Fox Valley Julian (Casey Leonard) ended the 16-race winning streak of Gorgeous Big Guy Saturday at Hawthorne. (Terry Young Photo) 

By Mike Paradise for the IHHA

 The old adage “all good things must come to an end” held true as the Mike Brink trained Fox Valley Julian, nicely handled by driver Casey Leonard, handed the 1-5 prohibitive favorite Gorgeous Big Guy his first loss in a division of the Robert F. Carey Memorial series at Hawthorne Saturday night after 16 consecutive victories.

 The win was the first in 11 season tries for Fox Valley Julian who had finished second best behind Gorgeous Big Guy last year on a number of occasions as a 2-year-old and a few times this year as well.

 The key to the upset win was a change in strategy by Casey, who had his Somestarsomewhere gelding out and rolling from the get-go, overtaking the early pacesetter Gorgeous Big Guy after a so-so 28.3 first panel on the backside. A modest 57.3 half gave Fox Valley Julian a needed breather to hold off the fast-closing (26.2) Erv Miller trainee by a head in the 1:52.2 mile.

 Guitar Man (Travis Seekman) turned a pocket trip into a easy 4 and 1/2 length 1:52.3 victory in the second Carey division over Fox Valley Kodik (Kyle Husted) for trainer Rob Rittof..

 Saturday’s initial division of the Beulah Dygert Memorial filly trot, the first of eight Night of Champions series events, went as expected as the overwhelming 1-9 favorite Whiskey Lou (Casey Leonard) pulled away to a two-length triumph. The 1:55.1 winning mile was the Curt Grummel trainee’s 11th win in 12 season starts for Savannah, Missouri owner and breeder Randy Witt.

 Even money co-favorites Fox Valley Tiegen (Marcus Miller) and Calypso Moon (Kyle Husted) finished one-two in the second Beulah Dygert grouping, separated by lonely a head in the 1:56.4 mile. The Can’t Afford It filly is co-owned by trainer Erv Miller and the (Marty) Engel Stable of Northbrook, Illinois.

 Lou’s Gambler, driven by Casey Leonard, pulled off an upset at 7-1odds in the first Erwin F. Dygert Memorial and for state-bred sophomore male trotters. When the post time favorite Tru Cash (Marcus Miller) broke going into the first turn, Little Chipper (Jared Finn) grabbed an easy lead, and Casey had no trouble dropping Lous Gambler into the two-hole.

  Lous Gambler stalked Little Chipper throughout the contest. The Jill Brown trained gelding put on a burst of speed in the final sixteenth of the mile, and drew off for Flacco Family Farms, the owner and breeder of the winning Lou’s Legacy prodigy.

 The second Erwin Dygert split went to the even-money choice Shady Maple Alstar, steered by Kyle Husted. The 1:57.4 win was the third in four starts since joining the Amy Husted stable in late August.

 The Plum Peachy divisions went to First Of Her Name (Jordan Patton) at 7-2 odds and the prohibitive favorite Hypeyourbestieup (Travis Seekman) by nine widening lengths.

 First Of Her Name went on Lasix four starts ago for trainer Tom Simmons and has responded with back-to-back victories for Chicago owners Megan Rogers Stable. The homebred Unlocked filly was all-out to hold off the fast-closing Adalecia and Fox Valley Taren, the second and third place finishers in the 1:54.2 mile.

 Hypeyourbestieup dominated her 11 foes in a 1:53 mile. The Somestarsomewhere filly left hard and quickly had command. A speedy 27.1 second quarter put away the early challenge of Ticktock Ticktock (Marcus Miller) and from, there the issue wasn’t in doubt for trainer Jamaica Patton, who co-owns Hypeyourbestieup with Cedric Daniels of Jackson, Mississippi.

  Freshmen Take Over Spotlight: Now that the third leg of Hawthorne’s Night of Champions contests for 3-year-old Illinois breds is concluded, attention shifts to the prairie state freshman tonight with nine 2-year-old series divisions to be contested.

  The Incredible Finale for first season ICF male pacers will go in three divisions tonight—races four, seven, and ten.

  Currently the Mike Brink stable’s Cash Money Twenty, thus far the fastest Illinois freshman with his sensational 1:50 flat clocking on October 3rd in the $55,000 Illinois Department of Agriculture Championship, is listed in sixth place with 50 pints, all coming in his first series leg victory back in August at Springfield.

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 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.

 Brink held out his prize freshman out of last month’s second Incredible Finale leg to give the pacer a longer rest after his blistering mile, confident Cash Money Twenty will get enough points tonight or in the fourth leg to make the November championship.

 “He’s in good shape pointwise with two legs to go,” said Brink.

 Cash Money Twenty comfortably won his October 3rd qualifier in 1:54.4 and breezed in 1:55.3 eight days later.

 Owned by Heart and Soul Racing of Des Moines, Iowa (William and Sherrie Bycroft), Cash Money Twenty has finished first in 6 of 7 lifetime starts and has earned $58,485.

 The current Incredible Finale point standings show a first-place tie between Battlin Bob from the stable of Hart Walker and the Erv Miller barn’s Fox Valley Pepper with 75 each. Interestingly, Fox Valley Pepper (Marcus Miller) meets Cash Money Twenty (Casey Leonard) for the first time in tonight’s fourth race leg.

 Battlin Bob, so far, the only freshman to beat Cash Money Twenty, will take on the Kimberley Roth trained Dialogue (Kyle Wilfong) in the tenth race third division. Battlin Bob has won 5 of his first 7 season starts while Dialogue has been victorious in 3 of his last 4, including last month’s second series leg.