While there were insufficient entries to card the ICF Sportsmaster stake Friday night at Maywood Park it turns out we will get to see some of the promising 3-year-old stake bred harness racing pacing colts this weekend after all.
Lucpark, Rockin Cassinova, The Big Sleazy and Fox Valley Elijah, all ICF stake champion as freshman—will compete in Saturday’s sixth race conditioned pace but they’ll have to compete against open-company pacers, some older.
Governor’s Cup champion Lucpark (programmed 9-2, Mike Oosting) and Orange and Blue Consolation winner The Big Sleazy (6-1, Casey Leonard), both Erv Miller trainees, are making their 2015 debuts. Rockin Cassinova (10-1, Bobby Smolin), winner of last year’s Downstate Classic at Charleston, and Yates Eagle stake victor Fox Valley Elijah (10-1, Matt Krueger) have one sophomore race under their belt.
The morning line favorites are Why Ask Why (Ridge Warren) and Jackson’s Image (Todd Warren) at odds of 3-1 and 4-1, respectively.
Both the $8,000 Iggy Magoo stake for 3-year-old ICF trotting colts and geldings and the $8,000 Betzotic for state-bred sophomore pacing fillies will be raced Sunday, along with the $9,400 “Winner’s Over” Trot
Maywood Champ Returns: In Over My Head, the 2009 Windy City Pace champion as a 3-year-old will make his 2015 debut at the age of nine in Friday’s tenth race mid-level conditioned race for the Terry Leonard Stable.
In Over My Head landed the outside 8-hole in the 9-horse field, nevertheless he’ll open as the 3-1 choice with Casey Leonard in his first start since late last November. The son of I Am A Fool spent a good portion of last year in the Balmoral Park Invites where he did post a 1:50 flat victory among his 6 victories..
In Over My Head has banked almost $350,000 for his owners Greg Carey of Mineral Point, Wisconsin and Shawn Swenson of Atlanta, Georgia.
Tommy Guns ‘em Down: It was the “Tom Simmons Show” yesterday afternoon at the Springfield qualifiers.
The veteran downstate horseman sent out nine horses among the four qualifiers contested and drove the winning horse from his barn in each, mostly romps in the park.
The 3-year-old Get Rockin was 11-plus lengths the best in 1:57.2, Catch The Wave, another 3-year-old, dominated 1:56.2, by 12 and 1/2 lengths, veteran Sporty Gypsy 1:56.2 put him 2 lengths ahead of Mystical MJ, another Simmons trainee and the current star of the barn Time To Roll posted a 1:53.2 mile, 9-plus lengths in front of Simmons’ Fox Valley Van.
Mike Paradise