By Mike Paradise

 

It was “Racing Under the Lights” as the two-day harness racing meet at the Du Quoin State Fair got under way Friday night.

 

Instead of sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-90’s at the southern Illinois facility, the 13-race card on the “Magic Mile” was conducted in pleasant 80-degree weather and if horses could talk, they probably all would like to say “thanks for the nighttime start.

 

All the major ICF stakes came in the first half of the program and he’s how things unfolded.

 

Talk About Breezing: The $28,000 Windy Skeeter trot for three-year-old fillies was the first of six consecutive ICF championships on the program and it turned out not to be much of a contest.

 

 

The Erv Miller stable’s Breeze At Sunset, confidently handled by Atlee Bender was much the best, drawing off by more than eight lengths in a time of 1:57.2 as the heavy 1-2 favorite.

 

Her main rival Loulita (Casey Leonard) did rally for second, but she never was much of a threat to win it after lagging the gate and falling far behind right from the get-go.

 

The victory gave Breeze At Sunset a sweep of the Illinois State Fair championships and her sixth triumph in her last seven starts for Bowie Racing LLC (Douglass Overheiser), of Shorewood, Illinois.

 

He’s Back! Atlee Bender was back to greet the track photographer with another of his father-in-law Erv Miller trained fillies. This time it was the two-year-old pacer Lady Bombay, a front-stepping winner of the first $16,500 division of the Director’s Award stake.

 

Bender hustled Lady Bombay ($12.40) out to the front from the five-slot in the six-horse field and was able to get away with a soft 59 first half with the 1 to 5 favorite Rollnrozz in fourth in the six-horse field.

 

By the time Rollinroz got rolling in the stretch, Lady Bombay still had plenty left and handily held her off by about two lengths in 1:56 flat, a new career mark for the Major Bombay sibling, also owned by Douglass Overheiser of Shorewood, Illinois.

 

Nosing Her Foe Out: The second Director’s Award division was a heck of a horse race with the two-favorites Fox Valley Captiva (4-5, Atlee Bender) and Dandy’s MNM (Kyle Husted) side-by-side for the last quarter of the mile.

 

 

The nose decision went to the Marv Chupp trained Dandy’s MNM, the 8-5 second choice, in 1:56, another new lifetime mark for the Fort Knox filly owned by A Piece of the Action LLC of Culver City, California.

 

Dandy’s MNM’s win ended a seven-race losing streak that included four bridesmaid finishes, the last two at Springfield. The filly earlier won a leg of Hawthorne’s Incredible Tillie stake series.

 

Not So Easy Does It: Springfield three-year-old filly pace champion Scorecard Dandy was scratched because of an injury a few races before the field went to the gate for the $28,00 Time Dancer stake and that left the door wide open for two-time Plum Peachy stake series winner to nail down her fifth victory of the year and she did just that for trainer Mike Brink.. . . but it wasn’t easy.

 

Hart’s Heart was shuffled back to fourth (and last) on the backside and needed a game last quarter of a mile to overtake the pace setting Bootsy Bombay (Kyle Husted) by one and one-half lengths at the end of the 1:55.4 mile.

 

The overwhelming 1 to 9 favorite Hart’s Heart, owned and bred by sisters Donna Crebs (Cantrall, IL) and Judy Gonzo (Lincoln, IL), has now thus far earned $56,803 in her second racing season

 

Nicely Driven: A patience drive from Kyle Wilfong paid off for the 1-5 favorite Funky Wiggle in the $33,000 Shawnee stake for ICF freshman filly trotters.

 

Wilfong sent Funky Wiggle out from the start and grabbed the two-hole behind the Hot Trotn Trixie (Archie Buford) who coasted to a 59.2 half. She was then challenged by Armbro Lark (Charles Arthur) and as these two fillies battled, Wilfong bided his time with his  Curt Grummel trained filly.

 

In the lane Funky Wiggles worn down the leaders, winning by more than one length in 1:57.1. The daughter of Lou’s Legacy also captured the Illinois State Fair Championship at Springfield eight days earlier for owner and breeder Dr. Patrick Graham.

 

 

He’s No Fool: The $28,000 Pronto Don trotting stake saw Sumbodygetdisfool put on a furious stretch rally and again defeat the 3-5 favorite Coco D;Lascito (JD Finn), just as he did a little more than week ago in the Springfield showdown for state-bred  three-year-old colts and geldings.

 

A heads-up drive from Todd Warren enabled the Roshun Trigg trained gelding to nail down his seventh season win for Brandon, Mississippi owner Laquinton Shavers.

 

Coco D’Lascoto had things his own way on the front end with leisurely fractions of 29.1 and 59 with Somebodygetdisfool in fourth, some five lengths behind but the Armbro Approach winning gelding was saving his best for the last quarter of the mile and got up in time once again.

 

As Expected: Earlier in non-wagering events Annas Lucky Star (Kyle Wilfong) was much the best in the $7,000 Aged Trot for ICF fillies and mares in 1:55.4 and Talk About Valor (Travis Seekman) also was a comfortable front-end winner in the horse and gelding division with a 1:54.1 clocking.

 

Afternoon Delight: Day two of the short Du Quoin State Fair harness racing meet arrives much earlier than Friday’s nighttime did with a 12 noon first post today on its 10-race card.

 

The prominent ICF stakes comprise the first five events on the program with mostly County Fair Challenges following,

 

The wide-open $28,000 First Lady Cup for state-bred three-year-old pacing colts and geldings gets things started. Springfield’s championship one-two finishers Ideal Big Guy (pp 8, Casey Leonard) and Ryans Loan Shark (pp 4, Travis Seekman) are the morning line favorites.

 

The $33,000 Governor’s Cup for freshman male pacers completes Saturday’s Daily Double. Since ICF multi-stakes champion Fox Valley Ozzy didn’t make the trip to Du Quoin, Springfield titleholder Get E Up (Kyle Husted) no doubt will be the heavy public’s choice.

 

The first of a pair of $7,000 aged pace showdowns are next with the two inside horses, He Gone Jack (pp 1, Ridge Warren) and Backstreet Lawyer (pp 2, Kyle Wilfong), the pre-race choices in the horse and gelding division.

 

The fifth race aged filly and mare division looks like a good one with Springfield’s one-two horses at the finish wire Fox Valley Exploit (pp 4, Kyle Husted) and My Uptowne Girl (pp 2, Ridge Warren) squaring off again with another state-fair title on the line.

 

In between the aged pace battles is the $33,000 Darn Safe championship for juvenile male trotters.

 

The Mike Brink stable’s Springfield winner Fox Valley Cairo (pp 1, Ridge Warren) will seek to make it three victories ion a row. The Cassius gelding will be confronted by five sons of the stallion Lou’s Legacy along with another Cassis offspring Hot To Trot Sparky (Archie Buford), a Kadabra leg runner-up who can be quick from the starting gate.

 

The Lou’s Legacy brigade is made up of Lous Barboissa (Atlee Bender), July 28th Kadabra leg winner Lousdobb (Casey Leonard), Lous Lancelot (Juan Franco), Lubbock Holiday (John D Finn) and Lou’s Di Nomite (Kyle Wilfong),

 

MIKE’S SATURDAY DU QUOIN SELECTIONS
First Post: 12 noon
1—Ryans Loan Shark, Ideal Big Guy, Partyatmosasplace
2—Get E Up, Kingofmyheart, Major Grin
3—He Gone Jack, Backstreet Lawyer, Sadies Art
4—Fox Valley Cairo, Lousdobb, Hot To Trot Sparky
5—Fox Valley Exploit, My Uptowne Girl, Skeeter Machine
6—Sweet Sweet Connie, Ryans Shark Attack, Shez Selfcontained
7—Pericles, Illini Storm, Luckmania
8—Mailbox Money, Cupcake Cassi, Jazkeyn
9—Aqua’s Bud, Hidalgo Howie, Blacky
10—Coming Fashion, Tucked Away, Electric Mist
Best Bet: Get E Up (2nd race)

By Mike Paradise

 

After having to compete in Indiana in two of his last three starts, the Merv Chupp Stable’s “money making machine” Pine Dream is back on the local scene for Sunday’s $12,000 Open for trotters.

 

Not unexpectedly, the now nine-year-old veteran was assigned the outside seven-post by the Hawthorne Race Office in the seventh face feature where half of his opposition are Steve Searle trained “Lou Lou’s. Otherwise know has stable-mates Louzotic (Casey Leonard), Lousraptor (Juan Franco) and Louscardamon (Kyle Husted).

 

The Searle threesome each have the capability to come out on top tonight. The five-year-old Louscaramon did just that on August 8th, the last time the trotting Open was contested at Hawthorne. The five-year-old mare Louzotic prevailed in a mid-June Open and Lousraptor proved best in an Open back in May.

 

Reign And Shine (pp 1, Jordon Patton), Cash Hit (pp 2, Travis eekman) and Walter White (pp 4, Ridge Warren) are Sunday’s other three Open hopefuls with the latter displaying signs he could be ready for an overdue victory.

 

The nine-year-old Jim Eaton trained Walter White boasts a career bankroll over more than $550,000 and comes off a pair of game efforts at Hoosier Park. The gelding has showed he can unleash gate speed and that may be the strategy tonight in hopes of ending a nine-race losing streak.

 

Meanwhile Pine Dream has continued to pad his ever-growing bank account for trainer Merv Chupp. The last time this old-timer missed a purse check was 19 starts ago back in early March, the horse’s last outing in Ohio. Pine Dream’s 2021 earnings are over $57,000 and we’re only in the month of August.

 

Three years ago, Chupp bought Pine Dream at a sale for $27,000. Since then, the trotter has raked in $306,921 for his 64-year-old Goshen, Indiana native with over 1,200 wins as a driver and 926 as a trainer.

 

  Du Quoin Next Up: With the two-day harness racing meeting at the Du Quoin on tap this upcoming weekend, Illinois trotting queen Annas Lucky Star is skipping tonight’s Hawthorne Open to prepare for the ICF aged mare trotting championship at the southern Illinois facility on the Friday, August 27th card that begins at 7 pm. The Saturday Du Quoin State Fair program has a 12 noon first post.

 

Hawthorne will be dark Friday evening and instead will race on Monday night, August 30th, following their regular Saturday (August 28th) and Sunday (August 29th) evening programs.

 

Easy Does It: The 2-5 favorite Dreaming Image (Atlee Bender) breezed to almost a five-length victory in last night’s $12,000 Club Hawthorne series final for filly and mare pacers.

 

It was the third consecutive win for the trained mare who Matt Rodriguez (Aurora, Illinois), who shares ownership of the mare with Dylan Niefeldt (Peotone, Illinois).

 

Sweetsadyshark (Travis Seekman) and Helen’s Girl (Juan Franco) were second and third, respectively.

By Mike Paradise

 

He’zzz A Wise Sky didn’t just reclaim the crown last night as the top aged pacer at the Hawthorne meet, the four-year-old ICF pacer took it back with an abundance of conviction.

 

The John Filomeno trained pacer demolished his five Open pace rivals with a sizzling 1:49.1 mile, finishing more than five lengths ahead of the two-time Illinois Harness Horse of the Year Fox Valley Gemini (Casey Leonard), an honor that He’zzz A Wise Sky won in 2020 at the age of three.

 

Regular driver Kyle Wilfong, as expected, hurried He’zzz A Wise Sky away from his designated six slot, and as anticipated, Ridge Warren sent Bobcat Bay out from the five and Kyle Husted did the same with Lying In Cash from post three.

 

Bobcat Bay had command at the quarter mile pole but at the cost of a scorching 26.3 first quarter. Lying In Cash was right behind, but not for long, as Wilfong settled He’zzz A Wise Sky into third as Casey dropped “Gemini” into fourth.

 

On the backside Husted quickly took Lying In Cash out of the pocket and to the front while Wilfong, for the time being, kept He’zzz A Wise Sky in third. Heading to the half Wilfong pulled the 4-5 favorite out and went after the leaders.

 

It took a sub 27 quarter by He’zzz A Wise Sky ($3.60) to make the top at a quick 53.2 half. Fox Valley Gemini then started to make his bid in the final turn however He’zzz A Wise Sky still had a ton of pace left, pulling away for his seventh win on the season for Justice, Illinois owner Triple ZZZ Stable.

 

Primo Giovani was a distant third, beaten 10-plus lengths, in the second race Friday headliner.

 

It was sweet revenge for He’zzz A Wise Sky and his connections. After his victory in the July 6th Hawthorne Open, the pride of his breeders, Donald and Joann Filomeno, He’zz A Wise Sky was a tiring third to Lying In Cash in the July 30th Open and third best to Bobcat Bay in the August 8th feature.

 

A trip to Hoosier Park a week ago saw He’zzz A Wise Sky turn things around in a big way as he popped at 14-1 odds in a $51,000 Invite with a 1:49.1 clocking, a new career mark the horse equaled Friday night.

 

Worth the Wait: Looking over Saturday’s nine race card at Hawthorne the top two events look to be the best two, both for filly and mare pacers.

 

The eighth is the $12,000 Club Hawthorne Series final, a 10-horse field with the Matt Rodriguez Stable’s Dreaming Image (pp 7, Atlee Bender at 5-2) and Helen”s Girl (pp 2, Juan Franco at 3-1) as the pre-race favorites. Both come off strong wins in last Saturday’s second leg.

 

In fact, Dreaming Image is going for a series weep. The four-year-old mare also was an easy winner in her first leg. In both series outings she has been hammered at the betting windows, going off at 3-5 on August 7th and at 1-5 a week later,

 

Also looking to grab the winner’s share of the $12,000 purse are Party Belle, Daybreak Girl, Finley’s Filly, Ezpay, Fox Valley Sierra, Double Parked, Sweetshadyshark and Tempest Heart.

 

An Open 2 in Disguise: While the filly and mare Open didn’t fill with only four entries, two of those—My Uptown Girl and Rollin Coal—were moved to race nine, a very competitive conditioned pace.

 

In fact, at least five other distaffers in the field, have competed in Hawthorne Opens this summer. It’s a wide-open event and it was wisely placed as the finale because it should get plenty of play with four gimmicks available to be wagered on.

 

From the pole position out you’ll find Vel Donna, Lilly Von Shtupp, Look Kimbo, Eliza Dushku N, Pootie Cat, Allbeastnobeauty, My Uptown Girl, Charlotte Royal N, Rollin Coal and Mamama Moonshine.