By Mike Paradise

There are no certainties in horse racing. That’s been proven time and time again.

No matter how good a horse looks in a particular race there’s always the possibility of an upset and a major one occurred a week ago in the meet’s $13,500 Open Trot.

J P Racing’s Simply Swan carried a six-winning streak into the headliner and was much the best in his first two Hawthorne starts, sent off at 40 cents and 30 cents to the dollar in those outings.

Talk About Valor (Travis Seekman) was the surprise 15-1 winner in last week’s Open trot. The Gerald Hansen trained gelding looks for a repeat victory in tonight’s $13,500 feature. (Fore Footed Fotos).

However, it was the 2021 ICF Aged Trotter of the Year Talk Abou Valort who prevailed 1t 15-1 odds thanks to a patient journey by his driver Travis Seekman and a not-so-favorable trip by the overwhelming public’s choice Simply Swan.

Not surprisingly, as he often does with the Yankee Valor gelding,  Travis Seekman sought and got a spot up close from the get-go giving the star of the Gerald Hansen stable a shot pulling off a surprise victory.

While Yankee Valor was enjoying a two-hole trip, Simply Swan was taken back for the first time in a Hawthorne race and would have to get the job done racing first over. The Swan For All gelding was fourth at the half, reached in a slow time of 59 flat.

While we anticipated the 1 to 5 favorite to power past. . .  it never came about.

Simply Swan (Joey Putnam) saw his six-race winning streak snapped a week ago. The 1-5 beaten choice looks to avenge that loss tonight in race four. (Four Footed Fotos)

Meanwhile Talk About Valor looked hopelessly locked-in as the field bunch-up in the lane as Seekman kept searching for an opening with his trotter. It eventually came and Talk About Valor made the most of it, drawing away from his six foes to win in 1:57.2.

Now seven, Talk About Valor has often shown he can hold his own with Hawthorne trotters for owner Shelly Steele when he’s healthy. Staying hale and hearty has been the problem. The horse has only averaged about10 starts a year.

You might remember that the full brother of Hansen’s former Illinois champion Picky Picky Valor was scratched out of the Plasac final on the 2020 Night of Champions because of health issues.

Tonight’s fourth race trot feature were drawn by groups with Reign and Shine (Casey Leonard) and Lousraptor (Juan Franco) getting the one and two posts, in that order.

Post three through seven were drawn with Simply Swan (Joey Putnam) assigned the outside eight-hole. Talk About Valor did well, landing the four with Louscardamon (Kyle Husted) inside of him and Annas Lucky Star (Kyle Wilfong), Magic Night (Todd Warren) and Rockyroad Aldo (Mike Oosting) to his right.

My guess tonight is that we’ll see a more aggressive drive from Simply Swan’s 24-year-old trainer and driver. That’s what worked with the talented trotter when he rattled off those six consecutive Open triumphs earlier in the winter.

A Charming Victory: Jesse Delong’s Seventimesacharm was a comfortable front-end winner in her Hawthorne debut, taking the $13,700 Open filly and mare pace in 1:53.1 by two lengths.

Sent off as the 3-5 public’s choice. Driver and trainer John Delong hustled the five-year-old mare away from the gate from the six-post, as did Todd Warren with Rollin Coal from the two.

The Indiana bred mare strolled to a 58 first half with Rollin Coal on her back and when Seventimsacharm uncorked a 26.4 last panel, Rollin Coal had to settle for second best.

By Mike Paradise

It’s gratifying back covering Illinois harness racing for this my 49th consecutive season. Hopefully the health issues that were responsible for my belated start are behind me.

Catching Up: I wonder how many trainers who entered a horse in tonight’s Open Pace issued a big sigh of relief when the field for the $13,700 Friday headliner was posted.

Not listed was the rampaging Illinois champion He’zzz A Wise Sky. The talented John Filomeno trained five-year-old is taking the night off, making the second race feature a wide-open affair.

Quite frankly the meet’s first three Open’s were basically a race for second place money during in the month of January He’zzz A Wize Sky hardly broke out in a sweat disposing of his Hawthorne opposition.

Driver Kyle Wilfong has had the back-to-back Illinois Harness Horse of the year well in hand at the end of the first three local Opens enabling a quick $23,000-plus on the Yankee Skyscraper gelding’s season card for owners and breeders Triple ZZZ Stable of Beecher, Illinois.

He’zzz A Wise Sky’s absence tonight shouldn’t come as a surprise to the horse’s followers. A brief rest makes sense after three straight weeks of competition. It’s a long racing season and there’s the Illinois aged pace championship on the line in mid-September.

“They didn’t enter the horse on their own,” said Hawthorne’s Racing Secretary Robin Schadt. “I didn’t ask them to take the week off with the horse.”

Robin also acknowledges that the Illinois champion won’t be with us all season. Our $13,500 Open purse pales in comparison to Hoosier Park’s $20,000-plus Open pots, so expect He’zzz A Wise Sky to spend most of the summer in Indiana again.

Last year’s Robert F. Carey Memorial Night of Champions winner Ideal Big Guy (Casey Leonard) goes postward tonight in race six. (Four Footed Fotos)

A disagreement: With He’zzz A Wise Sky tonight’s munching on hay at his home in Beecher, who will the betting public’s send off as the tonight’s Open favorite.

The sometimes-ridiculed USTA computer generated morning line came up with the Illinois ICF veteran Fox Valley Ren, a winner a week ago for trainer Steve Searle but at a lower conditioned pace level. He’ll open at 5-2 with driver Todd Warren.

I believe it’s more likely the computer’s 3-1 second choice Francis Underwood will get the bulk of the public’s wagering money, The five-year-old Perry Smith trained and owned five-year-old was second best to He’zzz A Wise Sky in 2 of the first 3 Opens and was a late-flying third (26.2) in the other for driver Mike Oosting,

Perry also sends out Gotham Hanover (pp 1, Travis Seekman), a sub 1:50 pacer last year at Hoosier, and the six-year-old Yankee Cruiser gelding is also programed at 3-1.

Former multiple ICF Horse of the Year Fox Valley Gemini deserves your deliberation tonight. The now seven-year-old star of the Terry Leonard stable was a non-factor in last week’s open when driver Casey Leonard ducked the pacer with speedball He’zzz A Wise Sky a “lock” to be hustled out. Which he was.

The Britany Dillion Stable’s The Thunder Rolls (Joey Putnam) returns to the races tonight and drew nicely with the two-slot. The veteran gelding breezed last weekend in his 1:55.4 qualifier.

Trainer Merv Chupp entered When You Dance (pp 6, Kyle Wilfong) after a needed start. The gelding had been spending the winter in Florida in Pompano Park Opens. He took his mark of 1:50.2 at Hawthorne two years ago.

   More in Store: Tonight’s co-feature is a $11,200 Open strictly for four-year-old pacers. You’ll have to wait for the 10th and final race on the card to watch it. The race was drawn by groups.

Post one through four belong to Shock Wave (Juan Franco), Round Here Buzz (Casey Leonard), Rollinwithdaponyzzz (Kyle Wilfong) and Advance Man (Mike Oosting). The five through one slots will be manned by Imarealrocknbuggati (Travis Seekman), Mastery (Wyatt Avenatti), He’s Gonna Getya (Kyle Husted), Velocity Gator (Joey Putnam), and Hello Sweetie Boy (Todd Warren).