They're Trotting Out ICF Freshman (06/23/10)

Posted Tuesday, June 23, 2010

                                                                   By Mike Paradise

    We get our first look at state bred freshman trotters Wednesday night when Balmoral hosts the $5,000 Million Dollar Bye stake. Seven ICF two-year-olds will make their pari-mutuel bow, four fillies and a trio of colts, in the second race co-feature,

  Later on (race eight) is the $11,000 Incredible Tillie stake for Illlinois bred juvenile pacing fillies. It’s a rematch between the Roger Welch Stable’s Little Maeve (Dave Magee), who nipped Laverne Hostetler’s Fox Valley Sedona at the wire of the 1:58.3 mile in last week’s Misty Misty Misty stake.

 Among the 10 Incredible Tillie starters are two new faces from Kristopher Reynold’s barn. Both Nashville Kitty and Scarlet are home-breds and the latter is a full sister to their quick three-year-old Southern Sport, a starter in Friday’s $100,000 Maywood Filly Pace.

  With all seven youngsters making their debuts in the Million Dollar Bye it’s certainly a wide-open event. The 3-1 morning line favorite Fox Valley Iliad (Homer Hochstetler) did win his qualifier in 2:02.2 for trainer Homer Hochstetler and is older brother Fox Valley Odyssey was the 2007 Lincoln Land and Sarah Myers champion for the John Butenschoen stable.

  Fox Valley Iliad owned and bred by Fox Valley Standardbreds (Sherman) and for Illinois Governor Jim Edgar (Seymour) is extensively staked on the local scene in his first season. He’s eligible to the upcoming Plesac and Lincoln Land ICF stakes as well as the open company Hanover and American National.

  The filly Make It Rain, owned by Sue Phillips and Jerald and Donna Viviani (all of Charleston, IL) and is a daughter of Armbro American and her dam For Deposit Only also produced 1:55.3 trotters Mystical Account and Vapor Rises, who won the 2007 Windy Skeeter at DuQuoin for the Viviani’s.

  The entire first race Wednesday night is comprised of two-year-old pacers racing for the first time. Off two impressive front-end qualifiers of 1:57.1 and 1:55.3 where he proved best by a whopping 17 1/2 and almost 23 lengths, the Shawn Nessa Stable’s Mystic Desire should land a good portion of the wagering pool.

  The colt is a son of Real Desire who sold for $15,000 at Lexington last year to Angie Lynn Nessa (Du Quoin, IL) and Jerry Stepter (Metropolis, IL) and is eligible to a $50,000 Hanover stake in mid-July.

  The first starter Gregorian Flaw is Scott Foster trained youngster by Rocknroll Hanover and was bought for $35,000 at the same Kentucky sale last year by Illinoisans Desyllas Racing (Alexander) and William Beck (Edinburg).

  The No. 1 horse Got No Credit is a son of Western Hanover out of Stan Miller’s successful broodmare Barbietross who gave us the former Illinois bred champion Cyber Wave who raked in $718,758 in two years of racing (2000 and 2001) for her Indiana owner and breeder.

                                                 
  To view Archived Notes and Quotes click here.         

                                                                                            Balmoral Park Photo

       Little Maeve (Mike Oosting) won a nose decision in last week's ICF freshman filly stake and eyes another victory in Wednesday's $11,000 Incredible Tillie stake.