Trotting Out ICF Freshmen Stake Hopefuls
By Mike Paradise
Long time Illinois based trainers Steve Searle and Mike Brink have the quantity and likely the quality of two-year-old ICF trotters to have a successful Sunday evening at Hawthorne.
Both Searle and Brink will send out five freshmen in the two Violet stake divisions for fillies and in the pair of Cardinal splits fr colts and geldings.
Searle’s Lous Abigail was bet down to 1 to 2 odds when Casey Leonard calmly rallied the Flacco Family Farms home-bred to her Fox Valley Flan opener victory in a modest time of 2:06. With the pole position and Casey back at her lines Sunday Lous Abgail opens at low-end odds of 4-5.

Lous Abigail (Casey Leonard) goes after her second straight stakes win for trainer Steve Searle in to night’s first $21,450 Violet stake for ICF trotting fillies. (Four Footed Fotos)
Brink has Lauren Hall in the first Violet. The Cassis filly was trotting along on the lead in the Fox Valley Flan when she switched to the pace and was disqualified from third to fifth.
Olympic Hopeful (Travis Seekman), Reign And Shine (Juan ranco) and Fox Valley Extacy (Brandon Bates) are the other second race contestants.
The Searle stable’s beaten favorite Bee See (Kyle Husted) in the second Violet is a filly who appears to have talent when she stays on stride however she didn’t in her Fox Valley Flan division after she trotted in 27.4 in her qualifier.
Brink will counter in that stake with Celone Hall, a filly who broke in her “Flan.” division, fell back about 14 lengths, and still came on for a 2:05.4 triumph. Brandon Bates takes over the driving chores tonight.
Searle provides a pair of first time starters. Lousintuit (Kyle Wilfong) and Cassy Chip (Casey Leonard) in tonight’s first Cardinal. Lousintuit is the sister of recent Hawthorne winner Lous Silver Star (1:56). Brink has Fox Valley Briton in that race, a fourth place finisher when he bowed in his Kadabra race.
The already much travelled filly Lous Flashy Dancer (Kyle Wilfong), Really Railee (Brandon Bates),Tropical Rosie (Tyler Shehan) and Fox Valley Lush (Ryan Anderson) round out the field.
Fitchey For Fun (Randall Finn) will be at first flash odds of 7-5 in his initial pari-mutuel debut. The colt breezed on the Martinsville fair track three weeks ago and was much the best last week in his 2:05 Hawthorne qualifier.
Mr Red Thunder (Richard s Finn), U S Patriot (Kyle Husted) and Deememorymaker (Jamaica Patton) are the challengers.

The Tom Simmons Stable’s Fox Valley Quest (Casey Leonard) is the 2-year-old ICF male trotter to beat in $22.025 second Cardinal division after winning his first two career starts in easy fashion. (Four Footed Fotos)
Lous Paisano is Searle’s hope in that race. The freshman was the first place finisher in both of his qualifiers however he made repeated breaks in his Kadabra division. Twin Cedars Rocket (Robert Smolin) and Fox Valley Kobe (Kyle Wilfong) are the other Cardinal aspirants.
Easy Does It: Double Parked and Sleazy Gal came away with comfortable victories last night in their respective $22,225 Violet stake divisions for ICF freshman filly pacers.
Double Parked, driven by Travis Seekman) was bet down to the overwhelming 1 to 9 choice so keeping her record perfect (3 for 3) was expected. However the first-time starter Sleazy Gal (Kyle Wilfong) pulled off a bit of a surprise when she was three lengths better than any other horse in her 1:56.2 mile.
According to the betting public, the fourth race second Violet split was expected to be a battle between A Girl Named Jim, sent off at even-money, and Fox Valley Vixen, at low end odds of 6-5, nevertheless it was Sleazy Gal at 7-2 odds who ended up drawing off.
Wilfong took Sleazy Gal ($9.80) away from the four slot and into a quick lead while A Girl Named Jim eliminated herself in the first turn when she went off stride. Casey Leonard pulled Fox Valley Vixen out of third and to the front before the 59.1 half, as Wilfong was content to take the two-hole behind the leader with Sleazy Gal.
After a modest 29.1 third quarter Wilfong found an open lane for Sleazy Gal and she delivered the goods, pacing a 27.3 last panel for trainer Erv Miller and Northbrook, Illinois owner (Marty) Engel Stable. The Violet win was the first of four winning drives on Saturday’s card for Kyle
Fox Valley Vixen settled for bridesmaid role, three lengths behind the homebred Sagebrush filly.
It turned out to be a little more than a walk in the park for Double Parked in the first Violet division. Another Sagebrush filly, Double Parked went right to the front, was rated nicely by Seekman with soft fractions of 30.2, 30.2 and 29.1 and then pulled away with a rapid 26.2 final quarter, four plus lengths the best in her 1:56.2 mile for trainer and owner Leroy Hunt of Jackson, Tennessee.
Fox Valley Exploit (Kyle Husted) came on for second while Ashlee’s Fine Girl (Luke Plano) took the stake’s third place money.