Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

ISOBA Stake Wednesday Night at Maywood Park

November 9, 2005

Favored Fox Valley Cherish (1-5) and driver Andy Miller captured Wednesday night’s $21,000 ISOBA Super Sale stake at Maywood Park in 2:01.4 on a very windy night. The freshman filly gained a head decision over Little Sweetheart (Sam Widger) with Jaci Honey (Tim Tetrick) third, two-plus lengths off the Rick Schrock trained winner.

“The raced worked out O.K. but I sure would have liked to have gotten out sooner and challenged Sammy’s (Widger) filly,” said Miller.

Fox Valley Cherish won for the seventh time in 14 starts for Illinois owners Brian Kaiser (Champaign), Dale Richeson (Tuscola) and Brian Loman (Broadlands).

“It wasn’t a very big mile (2:01.4) but with those slow fractions and tonight’s strong wind (gusts of 25 miles per hour), it was a very good effort by her,” said Miller. “She’s a nice filly with a lot of ‘go.’

“This strong wind really messes with a horse finishing,” continued the 37-year-old Mattoon, IL native. “When they have to go into a headwind like tonight, and you pull them off another horse’s back, it’s tough to get them to pass. A saw a lot of horses out there tonight who were pulled into this headwind and they just didn’t want to go anywhere.”

Wednesday night’s ISOBA stake was Fox Valley Cherish’s first pari-mutuel race at Maywood Park and very possibility her final one.

“It’s her last start for these owners,” said Andy. “She’s selling in the Harrisburg Sale.”

After winning four times this summer on the Illinois Fair Circuit, the daughter of Richess Hanover will head for Pennsylvania with back-to-back Chicago circuit stake triumphs, Fox Valley Cherish won Balmoral Park’s $12,500 Thrifty Way for state-bred first season pacing fillies on September 25. She then qualified at Maywood Park in 1:57.2 on October 31 tuning up for the ISOBA.

Fox Valley Cherish is out of the dam Ideal Fresh, making her a half-sister to the two-time Maywood Park Pacing Series champion Fox Valley Devious (1:50, $400,642). She has finished third or better in 13 of her first 14 career starts, earning $39,202.