Three-time Illinois Horse of the Year is at Du Quoin Friday for a rare appearance on the southern Illinois mile oval. (Patricia Fryman Photography)

By Mike Paradise for the IHHA 

 It’ll be a rare start Friday at Du Quoin for Illinois champion Fox Valley Gemini, nevertheless the three-time Illinois Horse of the Year did make the long trip from his Harvard, Illinois base stable in northern Illinois to the far southern portion of the Prairie State to compete on Friday’s 15-race program.

 It’s only the second time the star of Terry Leonard Stable will compete on the one mile Du Quoin clay oval.

 The popular nine-year-old Fox Valley Gemini was second to He’zzz A Wise Sky late last August when they tangled in the Illinois Aged Male Pacing championship.

. The John Filomeno trained talented pacer went wire-to-wire that day at the picturesque southern Illinois facility in 1:49.4, finishing one length ahead of Fox Valley Gemini, the winner of six consecutive Super Night championships along with Illinois Harness Horse of the Year laurels in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

 With the sudden, and unexpected, switch from this week’s races from Springfield to Du Quoin because of construction going at the Illinois Fairgrounds, there was a concern that Fox Valley Gemini might be scratched from his first start since January 21st because of the length of time in a van it would take to get to Du Quoin.

 However, his long-time regular driver and assistant trainer Casey Leonard confirmed on Wednesday that the winner of 61 career races and almost $750,000 lifetime for his owner Jim Ballinger (Atwater, IL) would indeed make the long (385-mile trip with Casey, over a six-hour journey.)

 Fox Valley Gemini drew favorably for his Du Quoin start, landing the two-post in an eight-horse field. Fox Valley Cayman (Travis Seekman), going postward after four months off, has the pole position. From the three slot to the eight you’ll find Fox Valley Treason (Steve Halford II), Legal Liar (Jordan Patton). Fox Valley Jasper (Wyatt Avenatti), Skyway Goliath (Kelsey Perymond), Copper Teen (Cordarius Stewart) and Western Vinny (Richard S. Finn).

 Live video of Friday’s Du Quoin races will be available on  www.trotandpacemarketing.com/livestream

 On Thursday, Gorgeous Big Guy, the 2023 Illinois two-year-old colt pace champion made it 3-for-3 in his second season and again won with authority for driver Cordarious Stewart.

 The Erv Miller trainee settled in fourth in the early going before Cordarius took him first over and to the front with the dangerous Guitar Man on his back after a slow 59.1 first half by the early pacesetter Fox Valley Kodiak (Kyle Husted).

 Guitar Man had dead-aim on the defending champ, but a 27 flat last panel put the Rob Rittof trained gelding away and extended Gorgeous Big Guy’s victory streak to eight in a row and kept him unbeaten against follow Illinois breds in his career. The winning margin in the 1:54 flat mile was one and one-half lengths.

 Nevertheless, there were a couple of major surprises in the card on the state-bred trotting divisions when both Jewels For Champ (Cordarius Stewart) and Stand By Your Man (Mike Brink) each couldn’t stay flat and finished up the track.

 Lous Mandalorian (Juan Franco) took the male trotting division in 1:58.2 and Lous Private Eye (Casey Leonard) coasted to a 1:59.2 triumph in the second. Honloulou (Travis Seekman) captured the initial filly split. All three winners are trained by Steve Searle.

 Whiskey Lou (Casey Leonard) breezed by more than four lengths in the second filly division in 1:58.4 for trainer Curt Grummel. She’s now had won back-to-back as a 3-year-old.