Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Balmoral Park's Super Night Eliminations Contested

September 9, 2007

Freshman Colts Vie in $270,000 Orange & Blue
Illinois' top freshman pacing colts go postward in Super Night $270,000 Orange & Blue Colt Stake Final. Four eliminations were contested to decide tonight's field, each carrying a purse of $12,500. The top two finishers from each event, plus a pair of third-place finishers drawn by lot comprise this 2-year-old test.

The Sportsmaster gelding Jolly Lester heads up the field of ten by virtue of his 1:51.4 winning elimination clocking for driver Dale Hiteman. Trained by Tom Simmons and owned by breeder Larry Breed of Stockton, Ill., Jolly Lester seemed on cruise control for Hiteman, as he coasted to a one and ½ length win over Little Pedro. The victory was the sixth of the year for Jolly Lester—who's finished no worse than third in all of his 13 career starts.

Choros C—piloted by Todd Warren for trainer Ronnie Gillespie—is another altered son of Sportsmaster. He picked up win number three in his ninth career try, with a 1:52 lifetime best clocking in his Orange & Blue elimination here a week ago. The colt gets his name from breeder-owner Chris Choros, of Calumet City, Ill, and used a :26.2 final brush to win by a neck over the hard-trying Froggy Turner.

Trainer Ronnie Guhy has unleased yet another surprise for breeder-owner Clyde Stevens of LaCenter, Ky., in Chevie Classic Rod. This youngster paced to a 1:52.1 victory in his elim for driver Andy Miller, besting rival Let's Getit Started by a head. The son of Art's Conquest was making his 13th career start and picked up his ninth win in the process.

Last but not least, Omaha Survivor picked up the surprise victory when favored Mucho Sleazy and Dr McSteamie each made breaks at the start of the race. Driven by Hall of Famer Dave Magee, the coal black son of Ideal Towne quickly took the lead from the start, tripping the timer in :27.4, :55.4 and 1:24.4, before flying under the wire by seven and ½ lengths to win in 1:53.3. Omaha Survivor now has earnings of $49,156 in his coffers. Earlier in the season he had captured both the elim and the $71,500 Fox Valley Dynamic Stake at Hawthorne in an career best of 1:52.1.

Simpson has two in Su Mac Lad Final
Dirk Simpson couldn't be happier. Both of his sophomore trotters not only qualified for Saturday’s $120,000 Su Mac Lad Final at Balmoral Park, but both won their eliminations handily for the talented trainer. The two trotters head up a field of ten in the first race of the 14-card Super Night program.

“I'm really proud of both of these horses,” Simpson said of Mystical Banker and Before He Cheats -- both gelded sons of Valley Victor.

Mystical Banker raced only twice at two, but so far this year has racked up six wins in 11 starts and $56,616 in seasonal earnings. He won his Su Mac Lad elim easily in a near wire-to-wire 1:57.2 effort for Dirk's 26-year-old son, Brandon.

“I never even pulled the ear plugs,” Brandon said. “He just won super-easy.”

“The horse tore a tendon last year,” Simpson explained. “So we quit with him, gave him the time he needed and swam him to keep him fit. He loves to swim.”

Dirk initially purchased the gelding for $17,000 at the Illini Classic Yearling Sale in September 2005 because he bore a strong resemblance to his full brother -- the $274,976 earning, 18-race winner Litigator.

“Mystical Banker was racing good for a while this year and then re-injured the tendon in the Hanover on June 16,” Simpson said. “So we gave him two months off. It's taken a lot of patience, but he's worth it.”

Before He Cheats did not race as a freshman, but has entered the winner's circle on 12 occasions in 18 tries this year, earning $87,589. He won his elim in 1:55.3, by a commanding 6-1/4 lengths for driver Jason Dillander.

“I bought this horse in a package deal last year with his then 3- and 4-year-old full brothers,” Simpson recalled. “None of them had ever raced. This horse started out great, and was purchased by Sam Bowie for $50,000 after his first four starts. He's had a foot abscess that we've been battling and it's cost us a little bit.”

Small but sturdy, Simpson says Before He Cheats is simply a “gorilla.”

“The Banker horse has more quick speed, but this horse is tough,” Simpson said. “He's not real flashy but he takes very good care of himself. Because of the foot abscess, we had an egg-bar shoe on him, but it's gotten a lot better, so I just switched him back to a regular plate. He seems fine now.”

“This horse is a real powerhouse,” Dillander noted. “He still races like a green horse and he's not real fond of having a whip in his face. He gave them (the other driver’s whips) a quick look in the elim, but after the first turn he was all business.”

Can “Moe” Best the “King” in Langley?
Gotta Go Moe and Kings Road—both Langley Memorial elimination winners—face off in the $170,000 final that spotlights 3-year-old ICF pacing colts and geldings.

These two geldings have a lot in common. Both hail from top stables, both are lightly raced, and both have been steered by two of Chicago's best reinsmen.

Gotta Go Moe is the $54,960-winning son of Incredible Final, conditioned by Erv Miller. He's amassed eight career wins in 14 starts, with five of those victories and most of his money ($44,066) earned in 2007 for the Tanah Merah Farms LLC.

“He raced outstandingly in his Langley elimination,” regular pilot Brent Holland said. “His effort in there was even better than his race at Springfield.”

In August, Gotta Go Moe paced to a winning 1:49.3 mile for Holland while winning the $50,000 State Fair Colt Stakes Final at Springfield. He romped to a 1:51.2 clocking in his Langley elim.

“This horse has been good all year,” Holland continued. “Erv (trainer Miller) told me at the beginning of the year he thought this horse would do well this season. The horse really enjoys racing from behind, and I think a good fast first half by the others in the final would suit him just fine.”

Gotta Go Moe won his 2006 Orange & Blue elimination at 2, but was scratched from the $285,000 Final, and retired for the remainder of his freshman season. “He's the type of horse that could get really keyed up if you wanted him too, but we haven't really driven him that way, because we wanted to concentrate on keeping him relaxed and focused,” Holland stressed.

Kings Road, by Sportsmaster, is trained by Jim Eaton for owners Robert Silberberg and John Schwarz, Jr., and has earned $31,556. Raced nine times at 2 with one win, Kings Road showed signs of high speed, but was, according to Eaton, a “head case.”

“He's a tough horse,” Eaton noted. “He pulls really bad, and I give a lot of credit to Dale (driver Hiteman) because he's worked with this horse and has got him to be more manageable in a race. He always showed a lot of speed and ability.”

Hiteman kept Kings Road in the two-hole in his elim, then pulled out behind the leading All Is Saidanddone to best that rival by half a length in a career best 1:51.1.

“The Langley elim was one of his best races ever,” Hiteman said. “He really raced super. I've tried to be patient with him and teach him how to race and conserve his energy."

Free Comes Home to Battle in Ann Vonian
Free, who captured her Ann Vonian elimination so convincingly in 1:53 for driver Sam Widger, has come home.

The 4-year-old Armbro Mackintosh mare—and pride of California-based owner Joe Alflen—has returned to Illinois after battling the best mares in North America in the $363,000 Breeders Crown at Mohawk on Sept. 1. The tough lass enduring a first-up trip, finishing third in the classic. Alflen, a retired auto dealership owner, purchased Free for $200,000 on May 5 of this year, and sent her to New Jersey-based trainer Kelvin Harrison.

“This filly was a top performer and was ultra-consistent,” Alflen noted. “I thought she'd be a nice addition to our barn.”

Free certainly has been an nice addition—amassing $186,270 for Alflen, who has owned 73 horses and bred 44 over the last three decades.

“It wasn't a tough decision to buy this mare,” trainer Harrison noted. “Stan Miller (Free's former trainer) told me everything about her and everything he said was absolutely right. She can take a rough trip and keep on coming.”

Free hasn't changed, according to driver Widger.

“She's a smart mare and only goes as much as she has to to get the job done,” Widger noted. “She really hasn't changed since I last drove her. She's a gritty mare.”

This will be Free's second Super Night start. In 2006, at age 3, she finished second by a head to rival Street Dancer in a dramatic 1:52.1 stretch duel in the $180,000 Grandma Ann. To date she's earned just over half a million dollars with 24 wins from 53 career starts.

Rival Bow Wow Wine will be looking to stop Free's bid for victory. The 4-year-old daughter by The Big Dog is owned by Sheryl Erickson, who trains the mare with husband Tim. A winner of $115,944 lifetime, Bow Wow Wine won her Ann Vonian elim in 1:50.4 with Brandon Simpson at the lines—giving the 26-year-old driver his fastest ever win. “She was awesome in her elim,” Simpson said.

“She's got a great closing kick and is a very nice mare to drive. Tim (trainer Erickson) and Sheryl do a great job of managing this mare. She's super sharp right now.”

“She doesn't require a lot of raining,” Sheryl noted. “Our main focus with her is keeping her happy and healthy. Since I own her myself and Tim does the training, we have the luxury of racing her only when we want, and when it's best for her. So far, it's worked out great.”

Sportsfancy Headlines $174,000 Grandma Ann
Sportsfancy left no doubts as to her ability, as she romped to a five and ¼, 1:50.2 victory in her Grandma Ann elim Saturday for driver Ryan Anderson. The sophomore Sportsmaster filly picked up her 17th career victory and a lifetime best clocking in the process.

“She was great in her elim,” trainer Homer Hochstetler said. “She was back on her home track and she knew it.”

Prior to last Saturday's win, Sportsfancy had raced at DuQuoin and finished fourth, and had also recorded a pair of second-place finishes at Springfield during the State Fair festivities in August.

“She didn't seem to like Springfield or DuQuoin and I can really figure out why,” Hochstetler noted. “But she just didn't seem like herself down there. I thought she'd race big at DuQuoin but that didn't happen.”

Owned by HBH Standardbreds, Inc., Sportsfancy has been first or second in all of her 2007 outings, except for one fourth and one fifth place finish. At age 2, despite winning $124,198, Hochstetler said he was ready to sell her at one point.

“She's like an old dog in the barn and on the track now” Hochstetler said. “Last year, however, we had a real problem with her because she didn't want to follow another horse. We were trying to sell her for $10,000 and that fell threw, and now, of course, I'm sure glad it didn’t go that direction. But at the time, she wouldn't follow a horse and she'd keep throwing her head up and it was really irritating.

“Finally, I started driving her myself, and I'd just send her and get her right up on a guy's back in front of me. Once she figured out that she could follow someone, she seemed like a different horse. I think she was just petrified of the dirt hitting her in the face—she just couldn't stand that. Now, she's as push button to drive as they come.”

Winning the Grandma Ann would add another feather to Sportsfancy's already hefty hat. This year she's already won the $100,000 Maywood Filly Pace in 1:54.2, the $48,000 Violet at Balmoral in 1:53.2, the $29,800 Hanover in 1:53.1, and both $12,000 legs and the $59,000 Determination Plus Final at Hawthorne.