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Magee Eager for Balmoral's Festival (07/31/10)Posted Saturday July 31, 2010 By Mike Paradise Balmoral Park plays host to its Chicago Southland Festival of Racing tonight. Six consecutive Illinois bred stake championships (starting with the seventh race) will be decided on the 14-race card and typically our Hall of Fame veteran driver Dave Magee will handle a number of major contenders. It appears Dave’s drive Iam Bonasera in the $57,500 Incredible Finale stake is stepping out of the shadow of his stable-mate Power Of A Moment, last season’s Illinois 2-Year-Old Colt Pacer of the Year for trainer Erv Miller. The horse is the morning line 4-1 third choice in Saturday’s ICF sophomore showdown, race 11 on the card. A son of Cole Muffler, Iam Bonasera paced three consecutive miles under 1:50 against some of the elite sophomores in the North American Cup and Meadowlands Pace events and wasn’t far off in both of those stake Consolation races, coming home in :25.4 in his last outing in Canada. A week ago Iam Bonasera was bothered by a breaker before he made up 10 lengths on the winning pacer JHS in the last quarter of the first Incredible Finale elimination. “Iam Bonasera has shown he compete race with the best open company three-year-olds, that’s for sure” said Magee. “The horse can motor. Now that he’s come back top Illinois he can really expose his ability. Last week in his elimination I raced him from the back and we ran into some trouble that took him out of the race but he finished strong.” Magee also drove his full brother Enzo The Baker to freshman champions in the Orange and Blue and at Springfield before the youngster’s untimely death due to an aneurysm warming up for Maywood’s Abe Lincoln stake a couple of years ago. “Enzo The Baker was an awfully, awfully nice horse,” continued Dave. “He was a little smaller than his brother Iam Bonasera who is a little bigger. Enzo The Baker was so versatile and Iam Bonasera is cut out of the same mold. It’s been a pleasure to drive both brothers.” Dave is also back at the lines of the Robert Taylor’s freshman pacer Mr. Bedrock, a fast closing second to He’s So Hot in a division of last week’s Mini Me elimination. Mr. Bedrock will open as the 7-2 second choice to He’s So Hot (8-5, Mike Oosting) in Saturday’s twelfth race $70,500 Mini Me Championship. Four races earlier Dave will guide the Dirk Simpson stable‘s filly Pardon, unbeaten in four career starts including triumphs in a Hanover and the filly’s Loyal Opposition elimination over the last two Saturdays. “I really like her a lot,” said Dave. “Pardon paces real easy. She’s versatile. The draw will determine how I race her because she can race on or off the pace.” Pardon drew nicely for Magee with the two-slot in the $63,500 freshman filly final and is the 5-2 programmed favorite. In addition to the Incredible Finale, Mini Me and Loyal Opposition championships, the ninth race is the $70,000 Ann Vonian Final for 3-year-old ICF pacing fillies, the seventh is the $45,000 Big Tom for ICF pacers age three and up and its filly and mare state-bred counterpart the $45,000 Park Lane Powerful will go as race ten. Balmoral‘s Pick Four starts with the first of the consecutive six state-bred championships and you won’t have to be an early arrival to watch and bet on it. The first stake—the Big Tom—is the seventh with a 9:10 pm. scheduled post. The last stake is slated to go off at 10:50 Chicago time. To view Archived Notes and Quotes click here. Wishful Thinking: This Saturday card would have been the right night to install a Pick Six wager that started with the first of the six straight stake races and attract bettors with a guaranteed pool of $25,000 or $30,000. I think our players would have loved it. And a giveaway of Balmoral T-shirts or caps would have been a nice enticement to make the drive out for the last Saturday program of July. Instead management sadly gives us the same old, same old gimmick format and the lures of watching a Taco Eating Contest and participating in an Beanbag Tossing Tournament with a $10 entry fee). Yawn. Balmoral Park Photo Dave Magee will team-up with Pardon in Saturday's $63,00 Loyal Opposition Final.
County Fair Report
Thursday, July 29 Results FIRST: Illini 3-Year-Old Filly Pace, Purse $1,683: SECOND: Illini 3-Year-Old Colt Pace, Purse $1,453: THIRD: Open Trot, Purse $1,200: FOURTH: Maiden Pace, Purse $750: FIFTH: Maiden Pace, Purse $750: SIXTH: Maiden Pace, Purse $750: SEVENTH: NW 2 OR $2,000 Lifetime, Trot, Purse $750: EIGHTH: NW 2 OR $2,000 Lifetime, Trot, Purse $750:
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