A Good and Plenty Saturday
Incredible Tillie opening leg winner Fox Valley Halsey (Casey Leonard) from the barn of trainer Nelson Willis heads-up Sunday’s fourth race for ICF 2-year-old pacing fillies. (Four Footed Fotos)
While a pair of Opens, one for trotters and the other for pacing filly and mares are the center of attention on Saturday’s Hawthorne card a number of ICF youngsters of both gaits and sexes are preparing for next week’s 2-year-old Night of Champions stake series and the 3-year-old legs the following week.
Two divisions of state-bred juvenile pacing fillies will go as races one and four on the 10-race program with Incredible Tillie series leg one winner Fox Valley Halsey (Casey Leonard) the 9-5 favorite in the fourth race and runner-up Fox Valley Torrid among the seven gals heading to the gate in the opener.
Taking on Fox Valley Halsey are Fox Valley Lil Kim (Tim Curtin) and Winter Gram (Ridge Warren), the third and fourth place finishers behind the Nelson Willis trained series winner. They’ll be joined by Cardinal Fancy (Ronnie Gillespie), first-time starter Brienne The Beauty (Travis Seekman), Ruby Ruby Ruby (Kyle Husted) and Grace Ann (Gary Rath).
Fox Valley Torrid (pp 7, Juan Franco) will meet Incredible Tillie bridesmaid Fox Valley Hotcake (Jim Lackey), Foolishlittlegirl (pp 2, Kyle Wilfong), second best in her Violet divisions. Caroline GR (Travis Seekman), Genie The Mooss (Gary Rath) and She’s So Funny (Merle Finn Jr.) are the other first race combatants.
The Brett Wilfong Stable’s Good Design is shown going to the gate in her second Beulah Dygert stake series victory. The state-bred 3-year-old filly trotters races Sunday in the second race. (Four Footed Fotos)
Trotting Grace (pp 1, Kyle Husted), second best in two Dygert series legs, and Fox Valley Strpwr (Freddie Patton Jr.) complete the field.
Saturday’s fifth race has three of the Plum Peachy 3-year-old stake series winners participating: Skeeter Machine (pp 1, Kyle Wilfong), Rollin Coal (pp 4, Casey Leonard) and Allbeastnobeauty (pp 6, Tim Curtin). Plum Peachy bound challengers in the race include The New Americana (pp 2, Kyle Husted), JB’s Shooting Star (pp 7, Robert Smolin) and Frontier Cuzin (pp 8, Gary Rath).
Saturday’s Opens will go back-to-back in races seven and eight with the 7-horse trot going first. The Jim Eaton Stable’s Walter White, a 1:54.1 winner a week ago, has been assigned the outside seven-slot with Anna’s Lucky Star from the barn of Nelson Willis, allocated the six after last week having to start from the 10-hole when her three race winning streak was snapped.
The ultra-consistent ICF trotter Pick Picky Valor, trained by Gerald Hansen, has the five with regular driver Casey Leonard while the Curt Grummel stable’s Louschipher (Travis Seekman) starts on his left,
The first three posts will be manned by Overandovervictory (Ridge Warren), Totally Pazzazzed (Tim Curtin) and Silverhill Volo (Jim Lackey), in that order.
The Chupp Racing Stable’s Kyles Secret (pp 7, Travis Seekman) goes after her third consecutive win at Hawthorne and her second in a row in an Open II filly and mare event in race five. Rodney Freese’s Pretty Image (pp 6, Tim Curtin) is the 5-2 first flash favorite.
The mares Char N Marg (Casey Leonard), Sweetshadyshark (Travis Seekman), Velocity Layla (Kyle Husted) Town Temptress (Cliff Bell) and Phyllis Jean (Ridge Warren) have the first five slots and each is capable of capturing the $8,800 affair.
Somestarsomewhere (Kyle Husted) made it three straight wins at Hawthorne Friday night when the Tom Simmons trainee captured the first of two Open Paces on the card. (Four Footed Fotos)
Somestarsomewhere, trained by Tom Simmons for Clinard Properties of Mount Sterling, Illinois, finished a half-length ahead of Ponda’s Prospect in a 1:50.4 mile. The Jim Eaton stable’s Account Hanover was almost two lengths the best at the end of his 1:52.2 mile for Farmington Hills, Michigan owner Robert Silberberg. Fox Valley Reggie (Kyle Wilfong) was second.