Bell Boots (Matt Avenatti) was all alone at the finish of last year’s $83,000 Beulah Dygert Memorial Championship at Hawthorne. (Four Footed Fotos)



By Mike Paradise for the IHHA 

 Everybody enjoys a “feel good” story and the Illinois bred filly trotter Bell Boots certainly provided one in her three-year-old season.

 The home bred filly began her 2023 campaign as an unheralded and unknown trotter from the barn of Matt Avenatti and by the end of the year, was honored as the best in her division at the recent Horseman’s Banquet.

 Bred by her owner Toni Jo Bell, the daughter of Lou’s Legacy out of Bell’s broodmare Honey In A Hurry, had a modest freshman campaign, earning less than $7,000. She finished third or better in 9 of her 10 starts but chalked up only one victory, in a less than spectacular time of 2:18.4 on the Paris, Illinois fair track.

 After driving Bell Boots in her last 2-year-old start, Matt took over the training and driving chores on Bell Boots for her 3-year-old season and at the time didn’t know what kind of trotter he had.

 Months later he was proud to be the trainer and driver of a champion. “She just got better and better as the year went on,” said the native of Chrisman, Illinois.

 After finishing off the board in her first six outings, Bell Boots raised some eyebrows with a second-place finish in a $22,600 division of the Violet stake at Springfield. While she was no match that day for the winner Radiant Diamond (seven lengths the best). she did finish ahead of some very good Illinois bred filly trotters,

 Bell Boots went on to win her first race as a sophomore at the Martinsville County Fair in late June and her confidence grew. She rattled off three consecutive first place finishes on fair tracks at Paris, Charleston, and Carmi in mid-summer before heading to the Du Quoin State Fair for the Windy Skeeter stake against the cream of the crop in her division.

 Bell Boots came up big at 24-1 odds, dropping a neck decision to Fox Valley Shania and tying Radiant Diamond for second—all timed in 1:58.1.

 “That’s when we knew we might have a very good trotter,” said Matt. “From there, we felt she could trot with any of the fillies in her division”.

  A month later was the third leg of the Beulah Dygert Memorial trot at Hawthorne, followed by the fourth and final series leg, and Bell Boots proved her connections right. She won both $25,000 events, coming off the pace in each.

 “She gets out of there pretty quick, and she can race on the front end, but she likes to race off a helmet. She gets brave passing other horses.”

 The $83,000 Beulah Dygert Final was next on Hawthorne night of Champions and Matt again gave his filly a patient drive, and she proved to be much the best with a two and one-half triumph with a new mark of 1:58 flat, ending her storybook season with purse earnings just under $90,000.

 “We were fortune to draw inside in all of her Hawthorne Dygert starts,” added Matt. That may be true, however drawing well and performing well when advantageous opportunities come about are two different things.

 Interestingly, in all of the Dygert starts Bell Boots appeared to be bottled up coming out of the last turn with track announcer Peter Galassi rightly saying: “Bell Boots has nowhere to go.” Nevertheless, in each one Matt patiently waited for an opening on Hawthorne’s lengthy (1,310) stretch and when it arrived, his talented filly stepped up and showed she has the heart of a champion.

 Avenatti started back training Bell Boots for her 4-year-old season two weeks ago. “I want to get her ready for the Oak Grove (Kentucky) meeting in April,” revealed Matt. “Then she’ll head back to Illinois and race in ICF stakes.