By Mike Paradise
After pulling off an upset victory in the opening leg of the Beulah Dygert Memorial filly trotting stake series at 24-1 odds the ICF 3-year-old Roma Falls Thursday could wrap up a starting berth in that $75,000 (est.) championship in September,
However the Ray Hanna filly trotter hasn’t gone postward since her romping four length victory back on June 2. It’ll be 28 days since her 1:58 winning mile.
“Roma Falls got sick and that’s why she’s been off this long,” explained Hanna. “I planned on racing her at Martinsville (Fair) but she still wasn’t right so I didn’t enter her. She’s good now and she she’s trained good. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that she’ll do well Thursday.”
Roma Falls won a division of the Springfield championship as a freshman and was a close second in the Shawnee at Du Quoin. Her other five starts all came on the Illinois County Fair Circuit for her owners and breeders Mary Lea Jeffers (McAllen, Texas) and Adele Jeffers Everett (Flat Rock, Illinois)
The Hanna trainee was sent off as the betting favorite in a Hawthorne Late Closer Series after a winning qualifier in late April but made a break at the start in her sophomore debut on May 12 and ended-up a non-threatening sixth.
One week later in the Late Closer Final she again was the post time favorite but a first-over trip contributed to the filly’s third place finish.
The fickle betting public then ignored her in her Beulah Dygert opening stake series leg, sending her off as the second longest shot in the race. However Roma Falls proved them wrong, putting it all together and winning rather easily at a $51.80 mutuel. (Four Footed Photo)
“I didn’t expect her to be the favorite in that race but I didn’t expect her to go off at 25-1 either,” said Hanna.
“Roma Falls can be her own worst enemy,” continued the 65-year-old Altamont conditioner. “She can get real nervous at times.”
Hanna is hoping Roma Falls will be calm and collected when she leaves from post two with driver Pat Curtin while the likely post time Rockinprincessabbie (Todd Warren) starts on her right.
Rockinprincessabbie was a game winner in her Dygert filly division in late May and another triumph in leg two would clinch a start in the final on Hawthorne’s September 10 Night of Champions.
Powerful Princess (Casey Leonard) and Vengeful (Todd Warren) are the third race second filly stake favorites. Vengeful was second best to Roma Falls in the first leg while Powerful Princess made a rare break on the move as the 4-5 favorite in the same race and ended up fourth.
Mr Strata (Casey Leonard) and Fear (Todd Warren) took their respective first legs of the Erwin F. Dygert stake series for colt and geldings and will tangle for the first time this season in race four, the first of two Dygert male divisions.
My 3-2 sixth race favorite in the second Dygert colt split is Primed N Powerful (Freddie Patton Jr) who has won 2 of his last 3 starts including the $11,221 Downstate Classic at the Carrollton County Fair nine days ago.

Wrightwood, a Kenny Collier stable-mate of Fear, should also get a lot of play. The gelding had a 27.4 last quarter when he came up only a nose short to Mr. Stata in the series first round.
Wrightwood won half of his six starts as a freshman including Balmoral’s $36,500 Plesac Championship.

By Mike Paradise
It’s Round Two this week for Hawthorne’s ICF 3-year-old stake series as the sophomore brigade of trotters and pacers look to take a major step to securing a stating berth in their respective finals on the in-town track’s Night of Champions on September. 10.
First up is Thursday’s $10,000 second leg of the Beulah Dygert stakes for filly trotters and the Erwin S Dygert events for state-bred cold and gelding totters.
A repeat victory by the first leg victors Roma Fall, trained by Ray Hannah, or Rockinbabyprincess, from the Nelson Willis Stable, in the Dygert filly stake or from Willis’ Mr. Strata or Kenny Collier’s Fear in the Dygert colt clash would lock-up a starting berth in their respective $75,000 (est.) Championships in September.
Friday are the $12,500 round divisions of the Plum Peachy for second season ICF pacing fillies where Hosea Williams’ Lexington Lady and Quaid Racing’s Char N Marg look to make it back-to-back victories and sew-up a berth in that $100,000 (est.)Final later on.
Saturday’s $12,500 Robert F Carey Memorial stake will bring out the top ICF male pacers for its second leg. The stakes opening leg divisions were annexed by the Rodney Freese Stable’s Caffeine Kid and longshot Holdonwe’rerolling, trained by Rob Rittof, who popped at $108.00 in his victorious 1:54.1 mile.
The Carey’s pre-stake favorite Dan D Dune, winner of last year’s Orange and Blue Colt Final on Super Night, came up sick and was a late scratch.
Both of the 3-year-old pace championships are expected to have a $100,000 purse.
The fields for all the ICF stake finals for the Night of Champions are determined on a point basis with 50 awarded for a first place finish, 25 for second, 12 for third 8 for fourth, 5 for fifth and 1 point for a starter.
Warren Red-Hot Chicago native Todd Warren had himself quite a successful past week of driving at Hawthorne, posting 17 winners during the four nights of racing and zooming past the $20 million plateau in money won in his career. (Four Footed Photo)
The 51-year-old Warren had three wins last Thursday, picked-up four more on Friday and then had back-to-back five w9nning drive nights on Saturday and Sunday.
Horses driven by Todd, a resident of Manhattan Illinois, have won over $1 million 9 of the last 10 Illinois racing seasons with his career best coming in 2012 with $2.5 million banked and had 342 first place finishes, two short of his best winning season in 2010 when he had 344,

By Mike Paradise
Saturday’s opening leg of the Incredible Finale stake series for ICF freshman pacing colts and geldings proved to every bit as popular with horsemen and their owners as Friday’s Incredible Tillie stake was for fillies and mares.
Again four first leg divisions were needed to get 36 Incredible Finale eligible juvenile male paces raced in their first step towards Hawthorne’s Night of Champion final on Saturday, September 10.

The pre-race favorites in all four of Saturday’s four divisions will most likely go to youngsters who have already had a pari-mutuel start and in some cases a winning one at that.

The Shawn Nessa Stable’s Sork (pp 1, Todd Warren) will no doubt be a low-end betting favorite at post time of the second race after a rather dominating 1:56.4 victory two weeks ago when he was sent off as the 4-5 favorite.

One of the first starters to challenge Sork is Fox Valley Hoss (Travis Seekman) from the barn of trainer Mike Brown He’s a son of Sportsmaster out of the broodmare Tyler Too and he was sold as a yearling buy for $30,000 to James Behrendt of Connecticut.

There’s no clear cut favorite in the fourth race second split. Both Fox Valley Reggie (Freddie Patton Jr.) and Upbeat Big Guy (at Curtin) come off wins. Among the first-time starters they’ll meet is the Carl Porcelli Stable’s Commondiscourtesy (Kyle Husted), Herman Wheeler’s Determined Dune (Pat Curtin) and Jim Eaton’s Fox Valley Jeter (Casey Leonard).

Commondiscourtesy is the third foal of Crystal Cricket. Her first was John Barnard’s star pacer St Elmo Hero (1:59, $783,306). Determined Dune is a full sister to Wheeler’s Little Miss Torrie. Fox Valley Jeter sold for $25,000 as a yearling.

Beaten favorite Ima Skydancer (pp 3 Ryan Anderson) and Patrick Q (pp 5, Juan Franco who both had solid efforts in their first pari-mutuel tests should get a lot of play in the third division.

An interesting first starter in that sixth race is Royale Big Guy, another Porcelli trainee own s by the Megan Rogers Stable of Chicago. Her 3-year-old brother is Royal Rose (1:51.2), winner of the/ Cardinal and a Balmoral Hanover. Another is Tiny Jim, the brother of fifth race favorite Dixie’s Boy. Both are Joel Smith trained pacers.
It should be pointed out that Casey Leonard chose to drive the Brett Ballinger first-time starter Fancy Creek over sixth race pacers Patrick Q, Sporty Redhot and Royale Big Guy.

The Nelson Willis Stable’s Fox Valley Inferno as only a neck short despite a wide mile in his debut and is the likely fourth division favorite. The Mike Brink Stable’s Sullivan was raced easy inside in his debut before unleashing a 27.2 final panel and finished second a week ago.

The Porcelli Stable’s first-time starter Fox Valley Flynn (Pat Curtin) is a full sister to the circuit’s regulars Fox Valley Cupid (1:52.3) and Fox Valley Charm (1:52). They’re all daughters of Yankee Skyscraper out of the dam Fox Valley Cherub.

Tillie Tales: The 4-5 favorite Princess Sage ($3.60) wouldn’t be denied in Friday’s first division of the initial round of the Incredible Tillie stake series for ICF pacing fillies posting a narrow neck victory over the 12-1 longshot Sheadealer.

Clinton, Mississippi native Freddie Patton Jr. cut fractions of 29.2, 58.4 and 1:28.1 with Princess Sage when Sheadealer who was given a three-hole trip from Casey Leonard, got past the public’s choice in the lane. However, Princess Sage fought back and proved best at the end of a 1:56.4 mile for Patton, who also trains the Sagebrush filly.

Razzleme Dazzleme ($11.60), nicely driven by Kyle Husted, wore down the overwhelming 1 to 5 favorite Filly Forte in deep stretch to pull off an upset in the second “Tillie” division.

(Four Footed Photos)
Husted settled Razzleme Dazzleme into fourth while Filly Forty took the field to a 1:00.4 half. Kyle tipped the Nick Prather trainee filly out as they neared the last turn and the Sagebrush filly grinded her way to be alongside the pacesetter at the three-quarters (1:30) before digging in when it counted in the 1:58.4 mile.

The Ray Hanna Stable’s Fox Valley Dandy was the surprise winner of the third “Tillie” division at 27-1 odds for driver Dale Hiteman. The victory came in the daughter of Sportsmaster’s very first outing.
Fox Valley Dandy raced next to last in ninth through most of the first half but when they turned for home Hiteman had her in striking position and the filly delivered the goods, surging past the 1-2 favorite Hope Hotspur in the late going to win in 1:58.1.

Chalk players got a reprieve in the fourth and final split when the heavy 1 to 5 favorite Jump Right Up ($2.60, Todd Warren) drew away to a two-length victory at the end of her 1::58 flat mile. It was the second straight victory for the Ideal Towne filly owned by Quaid Racing of Chicago and trainer Nelson Willis’ wife Cynthia Kay of Beecher, IL.