A well-rested Fox Valley Langley (Travis Seekman) races in the Robert F. Carey Memorial final Saturday on Hawthorne’s Night of Champion. (Four Footed Fotos) 

By Mike Paradise

 Last weekend’s last leg of Hawthorne’s Night of Champions stake series saw last year’s ICF freshman pacing titleholder Fox Valley Langley conspicuously absent.

 The talented 3-year-old pacer was not entered for the final Robert F. Carey Memorial leg after upsetting the series leader Fox Valley Landen a couple of weeks earlier in Fox Valley Langley’s only second start of the year and his first since late June in the Cardinal.

 “I checked the series standings, and he had 50 points with his win and was listed fourth,” said his trainer Jamaica Patton. “He had enough points to safely get into the final, so I gave him another week off.”

 As Jamaica conveyed in an earlier article, Fox Valley Langley missed about two months because of a nasty abscess on his right front leg. Despite the long layoff Jamaica was confident he would do well in leg three of the Carey series and he was proven correct when the Sometarsomewhere offspring overtook Fox Valley Landen in the late going in 1:51.4.

  “I thought it was a no brainer to skip the last series leg with him,” continued Jamaica. “He’s been training well, and he’ll be ready for the final. The horse has got a big motor and a big heart.”

 On the other hand, lady luck wasn’t kind to Fox Valley Langley. In the computer-generated draw for post position, the horse landed the outside 10-hole.

  The “fresh legs” approach has worked at times in past Super Night type confrontations for trainers. Will it Saturday night? 

 We won’t have to wait long to find out.

  The Big Gainers: The last legs of the Night of Champion series proved to be invaluable to several 2 and 3-year-old state bred horses.

  Deenbo’s made the final starting berth in the Kadabra when he finished fifth, worth five points.  Freedom’s Playboy’s was fourth, good for eight points in his Incredible Finale leg to grab the final spot and advance. 

 The biggest shakeups came in the Incredible Tillie where the two-year-old fillies Platinum Shark, Fox Valley Gina and Stevie Mae made big leaps to gain that final. Platinum popped at 57-1 while Fox Valley Gina and Stevie Mae had big efforts to be second (25 points) in their respective divisions and vaulted into the championship.

 All in the Family: Can a pair of siblings both come away with championships Saturday evening?

 Possibilities include sisters Funky Wiggle and Calypso, Moon, Fox Valley Exploit and her sister Fox Valley Sadie, brothers Coal Creek and On Higher Ground, Zeno Lou and her bro Louzotic, and the mare Loulita and the gelding Louscardamon.

 It’s been done before. On Super Night 1990 at old Sportsman’s Park the freshman pacer Plum Peachy won the Orange and Blue 2-year-old filly pace and later on the card her older brother Buck And Wing captured the Dan Patch final. Walter Paisley drove both champions.