First leg Pop-Up series winner Doctor Cruise (Kyle Husted) goes postward in Sunday’s $10,000 final for ICF two-year-old male pacers. (Four Footed Fotos)

 By Mike Paradise for the IHHA 

  The second try to get a pair of the $20,000 Pop-Up series finals for ICF freshmen raced comes about Sunday night at Hawthorne after an embarrassing cancellation a week ago of most of the scheduled card when just two inches of snow fell on the one-mile oval.

 The $20,000-Pop Up final for state-bred pacing fillies, won by the Terry Leonard table’s Dandy Ms Swifty, was one of the first two races that were contested after more than a one-hour delay between the events.

 It’s been speculated on social media that some portions of the track were frozen last Sunday which makes one wonder was the racetrack sealed the previous night knowing some perception and dropping temperatures were on the way .

 If not, why not?

 Granted it was the initial night of the meeting where the temperature plunged below the freezing mark (32 degrees) but doesn’t the temperature drop below freezing for the first time every winter.

 There had to be a lack of preparation by the track maintenance crew and incompetence is not an excuse.

  For more than 50  years of harness racing at Hawthorne there was a better chance of the Bears winning the Super Bowl than Hawthorne cancelling a racing card due to snow or a frozen track. Many times, “the show went on” safely even with some brutal blizzard conditions. 

 But 1nough of my grumbling, let’s take a look at tonight’s headliners.

 The fifth race series for Illinois bred first season males is an intriguing contest with a full field of ten horses with two of the likely favorites, Mazin Blazin (Casey Leonard) and Super Shark (Travis Seekman), both two-time series leg winners, landing the seven and ten posts, respectively.

 Mazin Bazin (Casey Leonard) does his best racing in the stretch, so the seven slot isn’t a big deal to his chances. However, the 10-hole must be a concern for the followers of Super Shark. The youngster has sprinted out in all three of his series legs, although two were from the inside, and you can expect the Nick Prather trainee to be hustled out again.

 Mazin Blazin is one of three freshmen from the barn of Terry Leonard to being going postward. Almost Gone (Kyle Wilfong) and Fox Valley Bruin (Robert Smolin), are both improving maiden stablemates who likely will offer fair odds.

 Trainer Amy Husted also sends out a pair of solid contenders in Doctor Cruise (Kyle Husted) and Fox Valley Carlos (Todd Warren). Of course, the Husted pair and the Leonard trio will race uncoupled.

 Boy, do I miss the days of entries when you could get two or maybe three horses in a race on one betting ticket.

 Fox Valley Carlos is a Somestarsomewhere gelding out of the Sportsmaster dam Fox Valley Lyn, making him a half-brother to the Gary Rath stable’s talented ICF pacer Fox Valley Ozzy.

  “I like the horse,” said Fox Valley Carlos co-owner Kyle Husted. “He’s also coming along nicely. He’s a big horse in that he’s a long horse. He trained down as a baby as well as any of my two-year-olds. Todd (Warren) will drive him Sunday. He won with the horse earlier in the year.”

  Kyle will guide Doctor Cruise tonight, a first leg series winner and the runner-up to Mazin Blazin the last two legs.

  “He was a late starter for us,” continued Kyle who shares ownership of the homebred with his wife Amy. “The horse is named after Amy’s grandfather who was called Doctor Cruise. He was the first horse that she ever trained.

 “Doctor Cruise is a very small horse and that why he got started later than my other two-year-olds. He’s coming along very well, too. When he’s out there on the track you can see how small he is compared to Mazin Blain, a big two-year-old.”

 My Buddy Steve (Cordarius Stewart), Hezarengade (Juan Franco), Ashlee’s Silver Guy (Brandon Bates) and Who’zzz This Sly complete the field.

 The seventh race Pop-Up series trot final will have a heavy post time favorite in Lous Amazon from the barn of trainer Steve Searle. The sizeable freshman filly followed a second-place finish to first leg winner Change The Tune (Travis Seekman) with strong back-to-back triumphs with Casey Leonard.

 Lous Amazon drew very well with the two post in a seven-horse field. The Steve Searle trained filly is gunning for her sixth first season victory owners and breeders Flacco Family Farms. The Alexis, Illinois outfit also has Lous Gambler (Clark Fairley) and Lous Enchantress (Todd Warren) going to the starting gate.

 Change The Tune gets away from the four post for trainer Gerald Hansen and figures to be the main threat to Lous Amazon. Slots five through seven will be handled by Ally Baba (Brandon Bates), Honolulou (Cordarius Stewart), Gritty Gator (Bobby Smolin) and the first-time starter Slipside (Mike Brink).