Three-year-old Cardinal division champion Fox Valley Jasper (Cordarius Stewart) goes for his third consecutive victory Thursday at Springfield. (Photo by Terry Young).

By Mike Paradise for the IHHA

It’s very early in the ICF three-year-old male grouping however we could get a good sense to what’s on the horizon after Friday’s third race conditioned pace at Springfield featuring most of the higher echelon in the division.

(Thursday’s scheduled card was postponed because of a heavy rain that occurred Wednesday night and has been rescheduled to Friday afternoon. The regular slated Friday program will follow).

For the first time this year recent stake champions Fox Valley Landen (pp 4, Kyle Husted) and Fox Valley Jasper (pp 7, Cordarius Stewart) will duke it out and it’s far from a two-horse race.

Springfield based trainer Tom Simmons will send out the strong duo of Fox Valley Steeler (pp 1, Casey Leonard) and Fox Valley Cayman (pp 3, Mike Rogers) into the Illinois bred fray. The latter was just a whisker short of beating Fox Valley Jasper when they met in their Cardinal stake division two weeks ago.

Fox Valley Steeler’s fate in his Cardinal division may have been decided by the post position draw. The Somestarsomewhere gelding landed the eight-hole in a nine-horse field with a trailer. Driver Casey Leonard hustled him out with hopes of getting favorable early position but instead “Steeler” was parked out to a grueling 26.4 first panel and pushed to a 55.1 half and had little left for the late going.

Maybe it wouldn’t have mattered because the Husted Stable’s Fox Valley Landen powered his way to a sizzling 1:50 mile, five length the best, and it appeared he had more for the asking. The Cardinal was only “Landen’s” fourth season start. In his second outing the muscular sophomore won an open company event at Hoosier Park in 1:51.1, coming home with a swift 26.1 last quarter.

“He came out of the Cardinal in great shape. He’s sharper now than he’s ever been,” said his trainer, Amy Husted. “He loves his job.”

Do you think he could have gone even faster if he was pushed by another horse in the stretch?

“He likes training against other horses so if there was another horse closer, yes I think he could have gone a little faster.”

The Erv Miller stable’s Fox Valley Jasper came flying down the State Fairground’s only 510-foot stretch to get his nose in time at the end of a 1:53.1 mile by rattling off a 26.3 last panel. Another Somestarsomewhere pacer in the field, “Jasper” was seventh, six and one-half lengths off the leader at the three-quarter pole that sits well outside the beginning of the Springfield stretch straightaway. The $9,500 yearling purchase also won his first Illinois start a week earlier with 26.3 final quarter.

Fox Valley Jasper went unbeaten in his first six starts, mostly against the top ICF colts in his division before health issues caught up with him and went unplaced in his last pair of freshman starts.

Whatever was ailing “Jasper” seems to be behind the youngster, owned by Douglass Overhiser of New Smyrna Beach, Florida and the Engle Stable of Northbrook, Illinois. Marty Engle also owns Mister Sleeze (Travis Seekman), who starts from post five Thursday afternoon. The Sagebrush homebred put nearly $41,000 on his card as a two-year-old.

Kage Daniel (pp 2, Juan Franco), beaten less than two lengths by Fox Valley Jasper in their Cardinal split, and Fox Valley Mckee (pp 8, Matt Krueger), scratched out of his Cardinal when he came up sick, round out the competitive Thusrday scheduled third race headliner.

Of the eight starters in the race, six are sired by Somestarsomewhere, not surprisingly the 2002 Illinois Pacing Sire of the Year, and bred by Fox Valley Standardbreds of Sherman, Illinois.

Just Four Takers: Three-time Illinois Harness Horse of the Year Fox Valley Gemini (Casey Leonard) is back competing Friday as he continues his march towards 60 lifetime victories.

After a three-week rest, the now eight-year-old gelding would be an overwhelming favorite, if there was betting, with the five slot and only four opponents. “Gemini” is four-for-four this season and it’s going to take a huge effort by somebody to keep the Illinois champ from his 58th first place finish and add another $4,000 in his purse account that stands at a hefty $709,819 at post time.