Two-Year-Old Sighting (05/28/10)

Posted Friday May 28, 2010
                                               
                                                                     By Mike Paradise

   The Erv Miller Stable sends out the filly She’s Stella for her sophomore debut in Friday night’s fifth race at Maywood Park. The Illinois bred pacer is reunited with Marcus Miller who drove the daughter of Richest Hanover in her first three career starts that included and very impressive first career outing.

  In her debut last July 19 at Balmoral Park She’s Stella was still seventh, over seven lengths behind at the three-quarter pole, when she unleashed a furious late rally and sped home with a sparkling :26.1 last panel to win in 1:56.1.

  The filly lowered her mark to 1:55.2 at Springfield three starts later for driver Brandon Simpson, and then was handled by Josh Sutton the last four starts of her first season campaign.

  She’s Stella is eligible for a pair of $100,000 stakes on the circuit’s half-miler—the upcoming (June 18) Maywood Filly Pace for ICF fillies and the later (November 19) open company Cinderella stake. She was also nominated at Balmoral to the American National (November 13), Super Night’s Grandma Ann (September 18), and this summer’s Ann Vonian (July 31). 

  Bought for $10,000 at the 2008 Walker Standardbred Sale by John Carver and Erv Miller, She’s Stella’s older 4-year-old brother Mr. Prince competes in the very next race (sixth) on Maywood’s Friday program. Both are out of the Sportsmaster dam Fox Valley Estella. Mr. Prince spent his first 14 starts of the year on the east coast where he raced at The Meadowlands, Freehold, Dover, and Harrington.

 Freshmen Sighting:  Two-Year-Olds were in action last Wednesday morning at Balmoral with two qualifiers strictly for juvenile pacers. In the first event the Bob Phillips trainee Eggroll (Dave Magee) won in 1:59.2, pacing a 26.4 last quarter the fastest final panel of the eight qualifiers. Eggroll is a half-brother to Matt’s Wolfey (1:54.4).

  Lavern Hostetler’s youngster Fox Valley Sedona drew off by over a dozen lengths in the second qualifier, winning in 2:02.1 with a 28.1 last quarter. The filly’s dam C Suzabelle’s first foal was former state-bred multi-stakes champion Kelly’s Keepsake (1:51.1, $525,439).

  Truly a Romp: Last season’s Illinois Three-Year-Old Filly Pacer of the Year This Much Is True had the fastest qualifier of the morning with a 1:55 flat clocking with Dave Magee at her lines and ended up 27 lengths ahead of her nearest competitor. The Nick Giberson trained mare was a 12-time winner in ’09 and captured several stakes including the Springfield and Du Quoin State Fair Finals and the Ann Vonian, a Hanover, an ISOBA and the Fox Valley Memory, all at Balmoral. 

  FFA Prospect? Trainer Jim Eaton is getting another one of his stalwart pacers ready to bring back to the races. Manhardt took his qualifier in 1:56.2 with Todd Warren. The 7-year-old gelding has $788,250 in career earnings and had season marks under 1:49.4 over the past four years.

  Eaton’s Dinnersatartsplace won last Saturday’s Free For All in 1:51.3 after his stable-mate Thisbigdogwilfight had to leave town after winning his first five races of the season, three in the Balmoral FFA ranks and was seventh in a $23,000 Invitational at Hoosier Park the same Saturday night.

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