Little Chipper (Jared Finn) a 16th race ISFCS two-year-old trot starter, easily won his Illinois debut in a division of the Governor’s Cup at Du Quoin for trainer J D Finn. (Four footed Fotos)

By Mike Paradise for the IHHA

HINSDALE, IL—It’s often said that the third time is the charm. More often than not that idiom has been proven wrong. However, in the case of the belated Illinois State Fair Colt Stakes, that phase will be spot-on Sunday evening.

The shifting of the ISFCS events to Hawthorne and its all-weather mile oval means rain or shine, they’ll finally be raced.

You might remember that tonight’s program was originally to be held as ISFCS eliminations back on August 11that Springfield. However, that old State Fair bug-a-boo, rain, caused the all dirt track to be muddy and unfit to race. So, the entire racing card of eliminations was divided into 18 finals and shifted to Springfield’s scheduled last day of racing on Friday, August 17th.

However, that move turned out to be all wet as well.

About a half-hour before the first race post a brief shower came about, and with a popular concert on tap earlier that night, there was no way to get the track prepared in time for the 18 championships to safely be contested. For this reason, they were cancelled and rescheduled for tonight at Hawthorne.

In some instances, being raced almost a month later than normal has made the handicapping of these finals a bit of a challenge. Most of the horses have raced at least once, and in some cases twice, since last month. Driver changes have occurred. Some potential finalists have been scratched.

And, importantly, Du Quoins State Fair stake championships, usually conducted before the Springfield finals, have already been decided.

For instance, in Sunday’s fourth race ISFC S division for two-year-old pacing males, back in mid-August little was known about Tim Roach’s Gorgeous Big Guy except that the Ashlee’s Big Guy colt posted first four starts were on half-mile fairs tracks in Michigan.

Now, he’s the pre-race favorite after an impressive victory in his $25,000 Directors Cup at Du Quoin where he left from the second tier, was parked out the entire mile, and still came home in 27.2 at the end of his winning 1:52.2 mile.

Then there’s Little Chipper, one of the favorites in the 16th race two-year-old male trot. At Springfield all we knew was he raced twice at the fairs, both wins, and did no better than fourth in his three starts at Hoosier Park. Trainer J D Finn however had him ready to roll for driver Jared Finn in a division of Du Quoin’s Governor’s Cup, winning comfortably in 1:57.3.

In tonight’s same 16th race, the Steve Searle barn’s Lous Private Eye showed an easy victory at Mt Sterling but nothing special earlier. Well, he was pointed for the State Fairs where the younger brother of Lousdobb breezed in his Governor’s Cup split at Du Quoin in 1:58.2 with driver Casey Leonard.

Also keep in mind that on the State Fair all-dirt softer ovals, some trainers race their trotters without shoes on their hind legs or no shoes at all. That’s often not the case on Hawthorne’s harder limestone surface. Also note when handicapping that Hawthorne’s stretch is more than 400 feet longer than Du Quoin’s and more than 800 feet longer than Springfield’s.

One of the major driver changes with the ISFCS move away from Springfield is that former Chicago-based driver John De Long will be at Hawthorne Sunday to drive. The Wisconsin native will handle the Mike Brink trainees Red Hot Sky (race 2), Dawn Of Creation (race 10), Astra Viking (race 11) and My Daddys Revenge (race 16) also trainer Ivar Hyngstrom’s Unhynged Speed (race 8) and Unhynged Zenzero (race 12).

On paper, it looks like a good night for “chalk” players but as you know anything can happen in a horse race, so sit back and enjoy tonight’s king-size wagering card.