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Home Sweet Home for This Guru (07/02/10)Posted Friday July 2, 2010 By Mike Paradise When they wrote the song “There’s No Place Like Home” I’m sure they didn’t have horses in mind nevertheless that adage can apply at times to a race horse and the Illinois bred stalwart Well To Do Guru is a great example. This year, with the circuit’s FFA pot cut down to only $10,000, the horse was sent to Indiana to compete under the care of Terry’s son Ross where the Hoosier Park Invites were going for more than twice the local top overnight level money. However Well To Do Guru didn’t exactly flourish out of the Prairie State. The horse went winless in his eight starts in Indiana and made a modest $8,000 for his Schaumburg, Illinois owner James Gorman. So he was sent back to his home in Harvard, Illinois, given a two-week rest, and returned to the Chicago circuit a rejuvenated horse. Well To Do Guru posted a first and a second in conditioned paces at Maywood, and followed with a career fastest 1:49.3 victory in Balmoral’s $30,000 Broadway Preview stake two weeks ago. Did coming back home turn Well To Do Guru around? “It does seem that home-breds who get brought up the way Well To Do Guru has all his life where they go out in the field everyday or get in some swimming, get use to that kind of a program,” answered his driver Casey Leonard, Ross’s older brother by two years. “When you take that away from them it can have an affect. “Well To Do Guru stayed at Hoosier (Park) and didn’t come back home in between starts,” continued the 32-year-old Casey. “Ross was stabled at the track so he only got to take him to a farm and turn him out a couple of times, so much of time when he was in Indiana he was in his stall. “When he’s home he has his own paddock and he goes out in the field everyday for a couple of hours and we either swim him or jog him. Ross didn’t have access to a pool either. Well To Do Guru is kind of a nervous horse and doesn’t like to stand there and relax. He’s always doing something.” One thing Well To Do Guru will be doing tonight is taking on seven other strong Illinois bred rivals in Maywood Park’s $30,000 Cook County Stake, the opening leg of its Maywood Pacing Series. He drew the six-slot and will open as the 4-1 choice. Thisbigdogwilfight, the series champion in both 2007 and 2008 and already a five-time in Balmoral’s Free For All Ranks this year, landed Maywood’s coveted one-post and is the 6-5 programmed favorite. Now seven, the Jim Eaton trainee’s victory last week sent his career earnings over the $800,000 plateau for Illinois owners Redbud Stable (Frankfort) and Michael Mc Neely (Normal). The solid field of older state bred pacers also lured Sports Fanatic (Art Gregory, Jt.), Fox Valley Gambler (Todd Warren), Omaha Survivor (TBA), The Quiet Mon (TBA), Fort Silky (Marcus Miller) and My Boy Luke (Dale Hiteman). Sharing Friday’s spotlight with the Cook County are two $7,000 divisions of the Enzo The Baker stake for ICF freshman pacing colts and geldings. A pair of Nelson Willis trained youngsters, Fox Valley Libero (Mike Oosting) and Filled With Wonder (Todd Warren) re the 6-5 and 9-5 favorites in the second race first split while Bruce Pacitti’s Little Pauli (Art Gregory, Jr.) is the heavy even-money programmed choice in the second (seventh race) division. To view Archived Notes and Quotes click here. County Fair Report The Schuyler County Fair at Rushville concluded its two-days of racing Wednesday afternoon with five more Mid-West Illinois Racing Association events. The 2-year-old trot went in two divisions with High Game an easy five-length winner with Nick Prather in the first in 2:02.2 for trainer Leo Gumme,l and Sycamore Survivor the best by two lengths in the second for driver-trainer Vince Espinosa . . . The $4,457 MWIRA for 3-year-old filly pacers saw April Brook dig in for her second straight County Fair circuit triumph with a head decision for owners Larry and Karen Walker despite racing first up against runner-up Elloluv (Mike Brink). Tom Walker again drove the Mark Walker trainee . . . The 3-year-old colt divisions with $2,263 on the line in each went in two splits with Sporty John, trained and driven by Freddie Patton Jr., leading from start to finish, 3 1/2 lengths the best in 2:02 and Cooperstown Kid following in the second heat with a come-from-behind head decision in 2:01 flat, the fastest race of the program. The winner is trained by his driver Tom Simmons and his previous start was in a Maywood Pace elimination. SCHULYER COUNTY FAIR at RUSHVILLE Wednesday, June 30 Results FIRST: MWIRA 2-Year-Old Trot, 1st Div, Purse $4,347: SECOND: MWIRA 2-Year-Old Trot, 2nd Div, Purse $4,347: THIRD: MWIRA 3-Year-Old Filly Pace, Purse $4,457: FOURTH: MWIRA 3-Year-Old Colt Pace, 1st Div, Purse $2,263: FIFTH: MWIRA 3-Year-Old Colt Pace, 2nd Div, Purse $2,263: SIXTH: Open, Pace, 2 and 3-Year-Olds, Purse $800: SEVENTH: Free For All Pace, Purse $400: EIGHTH: Free For All Pace, Purse $400:
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