Two-year-old ICF filly champion Thebeautifulthings (Kyle Husted) was a low-end purchase for a quartet of Illinois owners. (Four Footed Fotos)

By Mike Paradise for the IHHA

 The old saying “You Get What You Pay For” doesn’t apply to the distaff pacer Thebeautifulthings who was recently honored as the 2024 Illinois 2-Year-Old Filly Pacer of the Year.

 The Amy Husted trained youngster sold for just $5,500 as a yearling to a quartet of Illinoisians and amassed just under $200,000 in purse earnings during her first year of racing.

 Another foal of the Well Said broodmare OK Godiva brought $30,000 at an earlier Canadian yearling sale.

 Why the big price difference?

 “Thebeautifulthings is a well-bred filly with very good conformation just as long as you don’t look at her legs,” said her trainer. “Her toes point out. But we liked her breeding, especially on the paternal side (sired by Somestarsomewhere, a son of Somebeachsomewhere). She’s a tall good-looking filly, so we took a chance with her at a low price and hoped she would come around.”

 She definitely did.

 Thebeautifulthings will carry a nine-race winning streak into her 3-year-old season. After a fifth-place finish in her debut last June, she went on to win her nine other starts, including the $224,623 Incredible Tillie final on Hawthorne’s Night of Champions with a 1:52.2 clocking, just a tick off her lifetime mark she set last summer in a division of Du Quoin’s First Lady stake.

 Driven solely by Amy’s husband Kyle, Thebeautifulthings pocketed $198,752 for her owners Doug Overhiser, Husted Racing LLC, John Schwarz Jr and Mark Winship. That’s almost $50,000 each for from their initial $1,375 investment.

 “We’ve started back with the filly but we’re in no rush with her. It’s a long season and we are taking our time with her,” continued Amy.

 “She’s nominated for all the major Illinois bred stakes, and a couple out-of-state, and most of them come later in the year this season. She didn’t get much taller over the winter but like I said, she was tall to begin with, and she didn’t fill out a lot, but she’s athletic, so she will never be fat. She’s a long horse.”

 Thebeautifulthings didn’t race the entire month of October as a freshman. She was scratched in both in her scheduled October starts.

 “We had a lot of sickness going on in the barn at that time.” said Amy. “We scratched something like six horses on one night. With the big ICF stakes coming up a month in November we didn’t want to take any chances with her.”

 The Husted’s had Thebeautifulthings fit and ready for the Incredible Tillie championship, drawing off by four lengths with a 26.4 last quarter. Two weeks later she ended her first campaign with a comfortable two-length triumph in the $51,072 Violet with a 1:53.2 mile, again pacing a 26.4 final panel.