Looking Back to Parklane Powerful (09/01/11)

                                                      By Mike Paradise

 

 This is another in a feature exclusively on www.harnessillinois.com. Mostly they’ll be of the great horses who have competed in our state through the years. At times they’ll be pictures from the winner’s circle, special celebrations, and in some cases old memorable race track scenes. Some of these photos haven’t been printed or posted in decades . . . others have never been printed at all.

 

                                        Looking Back

                         
 

 

                                   PARKLANE POWERFUL

 

 She was as good as it gets in the Illinois bred pacing mare ranks from the start of this century until her final year of racing in 2006. This daughter of Sportsmaster out of the Broadway Express mare Broadway Treasure went 12 for 36 as a 2 and 3-year-old, winning almost $190,000 for Fighting Major Stable of Barrington Hills, IL including the Springfield crown in 2002 as a sophomore.

 Parklane Powerful really took off for trainer Homer Hochstetler during 2003 and 2004 as a 4 and 5-year-old when she was almost exclusively driven by Ronnie Marsh. Facing the best mares on the circuit she won over $442,000 in those two seasons including back-to-back Super Night championships.

 In her last 18 starts as a 4-year-old, Parklane Powerful won 13 of her last 18 starts and they all came in either Preferred Handicaps at Hawthorne, Opens or Illinois bred stakes at Balmoral, and two stakes at Maywood including the $40,000 Associates against “the boys” beating the likes of Constant Change and Fox Valley Devious.

 She took her lifetime mark of 1:43.3, still a track record at Balmoral for an aged pacing mare, when she beat Loyal Opposition in their Ann Vonian eliminations and then beat “L.O.” again in Super Night championship, her second consecutive Ann Vonian crown. Parklane Powerful finished her brilliant career with $798,556 in earnings, and in 140 lifetime starts posted 43 wins, 34 seconds and 21 thirds.