Trotting Series Final Has Variety (09/01/10)

Posted Wednesday, September 1, 2010
 
                                                                        By Mike Paradise

   Balmoral’s Champion On Ice Trotting Series gets wrapped up Wednesday night with the fifth race $6,175 Final. Once again it proved to be a popular series with horsemen, as did the recently concluded The Big Dog (males) and Pacific (females) Series

  The Champion On Ice Series was for trotters without a victory (fillies and mares were allowed one win) and that brought about a wide range in age—from two-year-olds through five-year-olds—and a substantial difference in racing experience between the 10 finalists.

  The morning line favorite Unbuckled (5-2) and G J Photo Victory (4-1) are just freshman making their fourth and fifth career starts, respectively. 

 On the other hand Rikki Soteras Margie May (10-1) is a five-year-old mare who is going postward for the 60th time tonight. Another at age five in the field is the Charles Gates Jr Stable’s Speedy Whiskey (6-1) however he is making only his seventh lifetime start because the gelding went unraced as a 2, 3 and 4-year-old.

   Unbuckled carries a two-race winning streak into the series final, winning in 1:59.3 and 1:59.2 with a pair of :28.3 last panels in each for driver Dave Magee who returns to the lines of the Banderas Hall offspring tonight with the favorable one-slot. The youngster was a $9,200 yearling buy at last season’s Illini Sale by trainer Roger Welch who shares ownership with Kenneth Desjardins of Hanmer, Ontario.

  Trainer Nelson Willis took GJ Photo Classic (Mike Oosting) out of the 2009 Illini Classic Sale for $8,700 for Illinois owners Kay Willis, Brandy Pinske Stables and John Esposito and the son of Photo Color comes into the race with a comfortable 1:59 flat front-end victory last week.

  The Kenny Collier Stable’s Aunt Ginny, one of four distaffers in the field, was a convincing victor in her two series starts, winning first up in each in 2:01.1 and then in 1:58.4, her 12th and 13th career outings. The daughter of Trophy Catch didn’t race as a freshman and is programmed as the 7-2 second choice Wednesday night.

  Aunt Ginny’s half-brother Victor’s Speed (2:00.4) and half-sister Bebe (1:59.1) have both campaigned this year at Balmoral. Aunt Ginny sold for $2,400 at the Ohio Blood Horse Sale in 2008 under the name Holly Sugar.

  And the Lilly Racing Stable’s Jesse’s Gal (Dave Magee, 12-1), winner of the $10,000 County Fair Championship four days ago at Du Quoin, also skipped her two-year-old season. Victorize (12-1, Terry Winemiller), Lucy’s Legacy (10-1, Todd Warren), Fritter (12-1, Rick Schrock) and Spotacular (15-1, John D. Lewis) compete the Champion On Ice Series Final.

 Wednesday Notes: Connie Hochstetler’s three-year-old colt trotter Martoddi, a starter in Wednesday’s second race, is the seventh foal out of her very productive broodmare Quillo. He dam’s second and third foals were Illinois champions Life’s A Holiday (1:54, $721,659) and Kadabra (1:51.3, $1,806,779) who made over $2.5 million between them. Quillo’s fourth foal Thunder Road had a mark of 1:54.3. All three were by the Illinois sire Primrose Lane.

  Third race first-time starter Papa’s Best Buddy is a freshman son of Western Hanover out of an Artsplace broodmare. Trainer Mark Fransen picked him out of the 2009 Harrisburg (PA) Sale for $47,000 when he sold as Room To Spare.

 To view Archived Notes and Quotes click here.