Trotting Out Pair of ISOBA'S (06/27/10)

Posted Sunday June 27, 2010

                                                                          By Mike Paradise

  Two Illinois Standardbred Owners and Breeders stakes for three-year-old trotters are in the spotlight Sunday evening at Balmoral. The $14,650 seventh race event will see seven fillies tangle while the $15,820 ninth race for colts and geldings lured a bulky field of 11 sophomores.

  Earlier this year trainer Jerald Viviani told us he thought that Leaveitonthetrack, only 1-for-12 as a freshman with a mark of 2:03.1, would be much improved in his second season and could team-up with the 2009 Cardinal and Plesac stakes champion Showmeyourstuff to give his stable a strong one-two punch in the state-bred stakes.

  Viviani was right on target with his forecast.

  Viviani’s two home-bred trotters have now won the last four consecutive ICF stakes raced on the circuit and are the 5-2 morning line favorites to add Sunday’s ISOBA to their list of accomplishments. Showmeyourstuff, who has rattled off three of those victories including this year’s $46,500 Cardinal three weeks ago, drew an inside post (the three) for regular driver Marcus Miller while Bob Smolin will guide Leaveitonthetrack away from the outside 10-hole.

  Showmeyourstuff took Balmoral’s $9,000 Iggy Magoo stake back on May 5 and his enter-mate followed with a quick 1:56 clocking a week later in a $14,720 ISOBA, knocking off more than even seconds off his freshman mark of 2:03.1 set last summer at Du Quoin.

  Showmeyourstuff then captured the Cardinal on June 2, lowering his mark to 1:56.2, and last week was a front-stepping victor in the $9,000 Mike’s A Mystery. Both youngsters are owned by Sue Phillips and Jerald and Donna Viviani, all of Charleston, Illinois and bred by Phillips Standardbreds.

  “I really like Showmeyourstuff,” said his driver Marcus Miller. “He gives me a lot of options in a race. It doesn’t matter if you race him on front or from behind, he’s capable either way.”

  The Viviani pair will be challenged by Dutch Commander (8-1, Dave Magee), Gumcorner Road (15-1, Connel Willis), Muscatine (4-1, dale Hiteman), Super Sonic Flash (15-1, Casey Leonard), Hokey Pokey (10-1, Mike Oosting), Big Bucks (5-1, Homer Hochstetler), Fox Valley Smarty (15-1, Brett Ballinger), Somore Set (Lance Scurlock) and Powerful Speed (6-1, Todd Warren) who will start in the second tier with the11th post.

  Southern Maebelle, who knocked off a similar field two weeks ago in the $9,000 Fox Valley Diva for the Gerald Hansen Stable, is the 5-2 first flash favorite in Sunday’s filly ISOBA showdown. Brian Carpenter will be back at her lines and they drew nicely with the two-slot.

  The pole position belong to the May 30 Violet champion Kf’spictureperfect (Leroy Miller). The 3-1 programmed second choices is the Trenton Watson trained entry of St Louis Holiday (p.p. 4, Art Gregory) and Merry High (p.p. 7, Mike Oosting). The well- balanced field is rounded out with Fox Valley Click (6-1, Dale Hiteman), Powerful Bella (7-2, Marcus Miller) and Claires Rose (8-1, Homer Hochstetler).

  Potential Hot Tottie: The Hochstetler Stable will send out their Credit Winner colt Martoddi for the first time as a three-year-old in Sunday’s first race. He’s out of Connie Hochstetler’s broodmare Quillo who gave us first Illinois champion Life’s A Holiday (1:54, $721,659) and then national champion Kadabra (1:51.3, $1,806,779). Kadabra pulled down over $1.2 million in 2002 when he posted victories in the Breeders Crown and Canadian Trotting Finals.

   To view Archived Notes and Quotes click here.