Illinois’ all-time fastest freshman Cash Money Twenty is having a good time on R&R while his rivals race today at Springfield. (Al Brodsky Photo).

By Mike Paradise for the IHHA

 When Illinois bred 2-year-olds tangle Thursday at Springfield in leg two of Hawthorne’s Night of Champions series, notably absent will be Cash Money Twenty who recently became the fastest state-bred freshman pacer.

 The good news is that the very talented youngster isn’t on the sidelines because of any heath issue. “He’s just getting a well-deserved rest,” said his trainer, Mike Brink.

 “I told his owners that I planned to give the horse two weeks off after his Du Quoin and they were fine with it. They said: ‘Just go ahead do what you want with horse.’”

 That was before Cash Money Twenty went out and dazzled Prairie State harness racing fans and horsemen alike with a sensational 1:50 flat clocking in the $55,000 Illinois Department of Agriculture Championship for 2-year-old colt and gelding pacers with Casey Leonard at the lines.

 “I know Thursday’s race at Springfield is for points toward the Night of Champions, but he won his ISFCS elimination earlier and picked up 50 of them and there are two more legs to be raced later at Hawthorne, so he’s in good shape pointwise.”

 The 10 highest point earners in the series advance to the $150,000 (est.) Incredible Finale Final on Hawthorne’s Night of Champions on Saturday, November 9. Series points are awarded on where a horse finishes in four series legs with 50 for first, 25 for second, 12 for third, 8 for fourth, 5 for fifth and 1 for starting.

  Owned by Heart and Soul Racing of Des Moines, Iowa (William and Sherrie Bycroft), Cash Money Twenty has won 5 of 6 lifetime starts and has amassed $53,281 in earnings.

 “Like I’ve said before, the horse is crazy fast,” said Brink. “He wants to go a million miles an hour all the time. He can be a handful at times, but the horse has got a ton of speed, and he showed it at Du Quoin.”

 The Stevenson youngster out of the Sagebrush broodmare Hostess Lisa began his career going 4-for-4 at Running Aces in Minnesota under the care of trainer Brett Bellinger. The horse moved to the Brink Stable at the beginning of August.

  While Cash Money Twenty is enjoying his day off, the horse’s chief rivals Battlin Bob and Dialogue have work to do Thursday. They’ll race in separate divisions of the Incredible Finale, where they both appear to be much the best.

 Dialogue (Kyle Wilfong), from the Kimberly Roth barn, has the four slot in race eight after dropping only a half-length decision to Cash Money Twenty at Du Quoin. Four races later the Hart Walker stable’s Battlin Bob leaves from post three in his six-horse series field.

 Battlin Bob (Travis Seekman) cut fractions of 26 flat, 53.4 and 1:21.2 before tiring in the lane going eight days ago before tiring and finished third in the record mile, his first career loss after five victories. The Somestarsomewhere offspring did beat Cash Money Twenty by four lengths two weeks earlier in their Director’s Cup matchup at Springfield.

 Three divisions of the Incredible Finale will be contested on the 12-race program, the same as the Incredible Tillie for Thursday’s freshman filly pacers. The 2-year-old trots, the Fox Valley Flan for fillies and the Kadabra for colts and geldings, will go in two splits.

 Post time is at 12 noon and disappointingly will be raced as non-wagering events.