Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Super Night Preview 2006

September 12, 2006

Elim Winners Set for Showdown in Sophomore Filly Pace
Rivals Face Off In Grandma Ann
The stage couldn’t have been set for a more perfect showdown between the two divisional rivals—Street Dancer and Free—in this year’s Grandma Ann.

Both were Grandma Ann elimination winners—Free in 1:52.1 and Street Dancer in 1:51.1. Both have solid earnings in their bank accounts—Street Dancer has $191,905 in career earnings, while Free has amassed $154,402 lifetime. Both are close in seasonal victories: Free has 13 wins from 20 trips postward this season, while Street Dancer has 14 wins from 18 starts this year. And both have marks of 1:50 and change each that they both took this year. Street Dancer paced in 1:50.3 at Springfield, while Free has a mark of 1:50.4 that she took at DuQuoin.

As well, both sophomore pacing fillies are trained by veteran horsemen.

Stanley Miller of Etna Green, Indiana conditions Free—a daughter of Armbro Mackintosh—for Robert LeRoy Enterprises of Elgin, Illinois. Nelson "Spider" Willis trains Street Dancer for the partnership of former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar, Terry Rathgeber, Ted Lock and Jim Reynolds—whose Freedom Hill Farms bred the filly.

"Free raced well at two but didn’t show what she was about until this year," trainer Stanley Miller noted. "She’s a very easy keeper in the barn. She eats well, her legs are always cold and sound. She’s a perfect little horse. She can get a little hot on race days but that’s just because she loves to race."

Free earned just $20,367 as a freshman, winning two of 13 starts. However she did flash signs of brilliant speed, pacing in 1:55.2 at Hawthorne in 2005.

Street Dancer won four of five starts as a two-year-old and earned $60,000 in the process, taking a mark of 1:55.1 at Maywood.

"Street Dancer doesn’t burn extra energy," trainer Nelson Wilson said. "She takes care of herself. She’s very lazy in the morning. You have to chase her to get her to work. Her lines sort of speak for themselves."

This two fillies have routinely battled against one another all season, finishing first and second to one another on numerous occasions. Tonight’s showdown between these two standout distaffers and eight other rivals may prove to be one of the most exciting bouts on the Super Night card.

SUPER NIGHT SPOTLIGHT
Last Year's Dan Patch Victor Hoping for a Repeat
Will King Johnny Keep His Crown?
As last year’s Dan Patch Final champion, it doesn’t appear that King Johnny will part with his crown easily. The eight-year-old son of Kingston romped to a 1:49.2 clocking in his Dan Patch elim here last Sunday with driver Tim Tetrick at the lines for trainer Clark Fairley, who owns the gelding in partnership with his mother Marlene. He won the Dan Patch here on Super Night last year in 1:51, with Tetrick in the sulky.

"Clark has done a really nice job of keeping this horse fresh all year long," driver Tim Tetrick noted. "He’s come some really big last quarters lately. I was pretty confident that he could win this race (the elim) here tonight."

King Johnny is the picture of a hardy racehorse. Born in 1998, his career really didn’t get off the ground until he was a three-year-old, when he scored in 1:54 at DuQuoin with Fairley at the lines. That year he earned $29,807 and had a 5-7-4 record from 18 trips behind the gate.

He raced only a few times at age four, but rebounded at age five to win five of 17 starts and just over $27,000. He also lowered his career mark to 1:53.1. And like fine wine, he continued to get better with age.

"Because we own him, we’re not under any pressure to race him a lot," trainer Fairley explained. "We take care of him and race him were we think he can do the best."

As a six-year-old in 2004 he paced in 1:50.3 in early June at Balmoral, and went on to post a 4-3-1 record with $35,768 in seasonal earnings. Last year was his best ever, as he earned $65,796 from only nine starts, that saw him win three, with three seconds and a third, including the Dan Patch..

This season King Johnny has won five of 12 starts for his connections, and has come some very big final panels in his last seven outings, including a sizzling :25.3 last quarter at Hawthorne on June 17.

"This is a true family horse," Fairley said. "My wife and kids are all involved, and King Johnny is one of those horses that my youngsters can jog."

This bay gelding was foaled on April 8, 1998 at the Tim Wilson Farm in Martinsville, Illinois, the son of the unraced Artsplace mare Swift Sister. King Johnny was her second foal and he has full siblings in Renee’s Queen, p, 1:50.3s, a 28-race winner of $379,608 and Odds On Donald, p, 1:55.1, a seven-race winner of $33,604. He also has a half sister in Nanny With A Fanny (by Incredible Finale) a 23-race winner of $192,529 with a mark of 1:50.2.

SUPER NIGHT SPOTLIGHT
This Langley Contender is One Fast Pacer
"They Sure Named This Horse Right!"
"They sure named this horse right!" Those are the words of enthusiasm from trainer Jim Eaton, who could hardly contain his excitement last Saturday night as he watched his charge, Thisbigdogwillfight, sweep under the wire first in 1:49.2 in his Langley elimination.

Eaton conditions the son of The Big Dog—Vicky Varius for the Redbud Stable and Michael McNeely of Illinois.

Foaled on May 15, 2003, Thisbigdogwilfight is the ninth foal out of the unraced Tyler B mare Vicky Varius. She’s been a standout broodmare, producing six other winners besides this three-year-old, including Vic’s Legacy (by Nuclear Legacy), a 44-race winner of $288,823 with a mark of 1:53.1. She’s also produced Patriotic Dream (by Tattler’s Torpedo), a 22-race winner of $109,964 with a mark of 1:52m; Gold Dust Mike (by Kingston) p, 1:52.2m, $91,613 and Butterscotch Vicki (by Kingston) p, 1:54.4m, $43,510.

But this mare also has a dark side. According to Eaton, Thisbigdogwilfight was raised by a nurse mare because Vicky Varius had a tendency to attack and harm her foals.

"I think she might have even killed one of her babies," Eaton said. "As a result, this horse tends to get sick a lot. I think it’s because he wasn’t able to drink from the mare right away, and sometimes that can effect a horse’s immune system negatively."

"Last year from DuQuoin until the end of the year, this colt was plagued by sickness," Eaton continued. "It wasn’t real serious, but a continuing respiratory illness, about a three or four on a scale of one to ten, but enough to keep him out of serious competition."

At two, Thisbigdogwilfight garnered $45,950, certainly nothing to sneeze at, but Eaton feels the colt wasn’t able to reach his potential due to his nagging illness. This year, however, it appears that the bay gelding has overcome what plagued him as a freshman.

"He is just healthier overall this season and seems to have grown up and filled out," Eaton said. "I only had two colts in 2005. We thought this one was just going to be a racehorse, nothing special. But he’s matured into the better of the two. He’s a horse who doesn’t require a lot of work, so I think that’s what initially deceived us."

This year Thisbigdogwilfight has amassed $114,466, pushing his career total to $160,416.

"That was a tough mile he went in his elim," Eaton said. "He was first over to My Boy David. With that kind of trip, I would have been happy to have been second."

SUPER NIGHT SPOTLIGHT
Orange & Blue Filly Pace contender Faith Leigh & driver Jamaica Patton
Patton Has "Faith" in Filly
Driver-trainer Jamaica Patton says he has complete faith in his filly, Orange & Blue elimination winner Faith Leigh. The daughter of Incredible Finale did nothing less than demolish her rivals in her elim, stopping the timer in 1:53 with Patton at the lines for trainer Ron Phillips, who co-owns the freshman with John Carver.

"No one else has ever worked with or sat behind this filly besides myself," Patton said. "When I first went to break her she was a terror. She kicked and threw fits. Finally I got her settled down and I worked with her until she behaved. I could tell at the time if I got her over that nonsense, that she was going to be a very nice filly."

Patton, 25, hails from Clinton, Mississippi, but for the past two years has been working for trainer Phillips at the Springfield, Illinois fairgrounds. Patton was raised with harness horses—his grandfather trained and raced—and began driving at age 17 on the Illinois county fair circuit. Since he began driving in 1997 he’s steered 301 winners to the tune of $643,458 in purse earnings.

"I drove one of Ron’s (trainer Phillips) horses (Express Tramp) at Pana, going for a good purse ($7,000)," Jamaica remembered. "I won with that horse, then went to Fayetteville, Tennessee to race at a fair and he called me there and asked if I wanted to work for him."

Since then Patton and Phillips routinely keep a stable of 25 horses, with a mixture of raceway horses, stake colts and babies. However, Faith Leigh is certainly tops in Patton’s mind.

"She’s very handy," Jamaica noted. "I can do anything with her now. She’s never trained with another horse, I’ve always trained her alone. She’s very gutsy and drives perfectly. I feel like we’re a team."

Faith Leigh is the fourth richest starter in tonight’s field of freshman fillies (behind Orgami Rose--$39,166; Kiss Of Heaven--$38,270; and Trendy L--$30,356) with $30,039 from six wins in ten career tries.

Bred by Phillips and Carver, Faith Leigh is the fifth foal out of the Falcon Seelster mare Peachy Revrac. She’s a full sister to the nine-race winning mare Kyra Revrac, p,2:00.2h, 3, 1:59.3h ($18,132) and a half sister to Ronnie Revrac (by Tattler’s Torpedo), a 17-race winning gelding with a mark of 1:55.2f and $52,804; Prime Time Bo (by Sportsmaster), p, 1:55.1 $27,915; and Peaches N Ky (by Armbro Mackintosh) p, 3, 1:57.1h.

Super Night’s Championship Trainers Through 2005
Trainer                        Wins Trainer                     Wins   Trainer              Wins
Joe Anderson . . . . . . . . . . .13 Ron Anderson . . . . . . . . .1    Theresa Ledford . .. .. 1
Mark Fransen . . . . . . . . . . .9   Stan Bayless . . . . . . . .. .1      Jack Leonard ............1
Ervin Miller . . . . . . . . . . . .. .8   Bill Beckley . . . . . . . . . . 1     Doug McIntosh . . . . .1
Homer Hochstetler . . . . . . . .4   Bob Black . . . . . . . . . . . . 1   Jim Meade . . . . . . . .1
Tex Moats . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4   Martin Brimmer . . . . . .. . .1   Les Miller . . . . . . .. .1
Tom Simmons . . . . . . . . . . .4   Merv Chupp . . . . . . . . . . .1   Stan Miller . . . . . . . .1
Roger Welch . . . . . . . . . . . .4   Neil Coleman . . . . . . . . . .1    John Nessa . . . . . .. .1
Lavern Hostetler . . . . . . . . .3   Jim Crebs . . . . . . . . . . . . .1   Angie Odgen . . .. . . .1
Jim Ellison . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2   Todd Crone . . . . . . . .. . . .1    Larry Pufahl . . . .. . .1
Bob Farrington . . . . . . . . . . 2   Lenny D’Amelio . . . . . . . . .1 Gary Rath . . . . . .. . .1
John Butenschoen . . . . . . . .2    Jim Eaton . . . . . . . . . . . .1    William Rozzi .. . . . . .1
Dave Issacs . . . . . . . . . . . .2   Clark Fairley . . . . . . . . . . .1   Robert Sanders . . . .1
Greg Lance . . . . . . . . . . . .2   Sonny Graham, Jr. . . . . . .1      Dirk Simpson . ... . . .1
Lloyd Daulton . . . . . . . . . . .2   Tom Graham, Jr. . . . . . . . .1   Gary Scurlock .. . . . .1
Tom Harmer . . . . . . . . . . .2   Robert Grimsley . . . . . . . .1     Lloyd Roberts . . . .. .1
Seldon Ledford . . . . . . . . ..2    Gerald Hansen . . . . . . . . . .1 Mark Urycki . . . .. . .1
Mickey Rodriguez . . . . . . . .2    Debra Harmer . . . . . . . . . .1 Roger Waddell . . . . .1
Tom Roth . . . . . . . . . . . .. .2    Rex Jackson . . . . . . . . . . .1    Robert Walker . . . . .1
Tom Stamper . . . . . . . . . ..2    George Kramer . . . . . . . . .1   Sean Walker . . . . . .1
Jim Banks . . . . . . . . . . .. ..2    Greg Lance . . . . . . . . . .. . .1   Nelson Willis . . . . . .1
Amanda Smith . . . . . . . . . .2   Alan Wolf . . . . . . . .1

Super Night’s Championship Drivers through 2005
Driver                       Wins    Driver                     Wins     Driver                  Wins
Dave Magee . . . . . . . . . .23 Jim Curran . . . . . . . . . . .3     Merv Chupp . . . . .. . .1
Joe Anderson . . . . . . . .. .12   Tim Tetrick . . . . . . . . . . .3     Joe Marsh, Jr. . . . . . . .1
Tony Morgan . . . . . . . . . .9     Sam Widger . . . . . . . . . .2     Tom Harmer . . . . . . . .1
Andy Miller . . . . . . . . . . .8      Ryan Anderson . . . . . . . .2     Homer Hochstetler . .. .1
Lavern Hostetler . . . . . . . .7    Tom Simmons . . . . . . . . .2     Dan Knox . . . . . . . . .1
Ron Marsh . . . . . . . . . . . .7     Art Gregory, Jr. . . . . . . .2      Doug Larsen . . . . . . .1
Eric Ledford . . . . . . . . . . .6    Donald Eash . . . . . . . . . .1      Daryl Busse . . . .. . . .1
Dale Hiteman . . . . . . . . . .5    George Kramer . . . . . . . .1    Randy Jacobs . . . . . .1
Brent Holland . . . . . . . . . .5    Lemoyne Svendsen . . . . .1    Doug Hamilton . . . . . .1
Walter Paisley . . . . . . . . ..3    Dave Maxwell . . . . . .. . . .1    Mike Oosting . . . . . . .1
Neil Coleman . . . . . . . . . .3     Tim Curtin . . . . . . . . . . . .1

SUPER NIGHT SPOTLIGHT
Orange & Blue Colt Pace Entrant Fox Valley Barzgar on Fire
"Barzgar" Sizzling in His First Season
Divisional leader and Orange & Blue elimination winner Fox Valley Barzgar comes into tonight’s Final with solid credentials for owner Michale Polansky of Loudonville, NY. He’s done everything asked of him to date, including winning the Woodrow Wilson.

Foaled on April 22, 2004 at Doc and Pat Walker’s Fox Valley Stanadardbred farm in Sherman, Illinois, the son of the Sportsmaster mare Slammin Annie was first conditioned by downstate Illinois trainer Shawn Nessa. He made his debut on May 27 at DuQuoin in a baby race, pacing in 1:56 and winning easily by three lengths.

In his pari-mutuel debut on June 17 at Hawthorne, he was nearly knocked off his feet and unable to recover, finished a disappointing fifth. The following week, Nessa climbed into the sulky and qualified his charge at Balmoral, in a sizzling 1:55.2, eight-length victory.

Then came the $29,000 Hanover on July 8 at Balmoral. Hall of Famer Dave Magee was at the lines behind the Incredible Finale colt, and the two sped to victory impressively in 1:52.

"He really impressed me being that this is only his second lifetime start, especially when you consider that in his debut, he nearly got knocked off his feet and was never really in the race," Magee said in the winner’s circle that night.

After the Hanover Stake the youngster was sold privately to Polansky and trainer Tom Harmer took over his conditioning duties.

A few weeks later came his toughest test—the $20,000 elimination for the Woodrow Wilson at The Meadowlands, where the Illinois-bred colt faced some of the toughest freshmen in North America. With Tony Morgan at the lines Fox Valley Barzgar paced to a 1:51.3, three and a half-length victory in seemingly effortless fashion.

One week later, on August 5 the colt paced a stakes record of 1:50.2 in a wire to wire performance in the $410,000 Woodrow Wilson Final at The Big M. He was a clear three-length winner with Morgan in the bike again.

"He earned some respect last week," Morgan said that night. "He felt like he’d do whatever you wanted to do tonight."

Next he scored an easy 1:51 victory in the $40,000 Governor’s Cup at DuQuoin, this time with Magee back in the sulky.

"This is a very smart horse and he drives like an old horse," Magee noted. "I feel pretty familiar with him now."

Fox Valley Barzgar now has $258,200 in six wins from just seven starts.