by James Platz

Tonight (Sept. 20), Loveyoucookie will line up behind the Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino starting gate in the $185,000 Kentuckiana Stallion Management Stake for freshman pacing fillies. This summer the Capt Midnight—Bluebird Love 2-year-old has hit the board in seven of eight starts. That’s an accomplishment for the Doug Overhiser-owned pacer after she got off to a late start last winter.

“This will be a big test and she drew terribly,” trainer Jamie Macomber said of the outside post position in the nine-filly field. “I think she’ll be very consistent and be right there with them. She loves to race. She hasn’t finished worse than fourth yet, and I don’t expect that to change.”

Today the expectations are high. But there was a time when Macomber and Overhiser had to temper their hopes for the filly. Purchased at last year’s Hoosier Classic sale for $30,000, Loveyoucookie was cataloged with the name Bluebird Pdq, and sold later in the first day’s session. She is from the first crop of Captaintreacherous son Capt Midnight. The filly is the first foal from Bluebird Love, a full-sister to $200,000 winner Peter Dalt, a horse Macomber trained.

“Doug doesn’t mind trying a new stallion if the price is right,” Macomber said. “He and I picked her out and got her.”

Loveyoucookie’s transition into the Macomber barn didn’t begin as anticipated. The filly missed several weeks of training after osteochondritis dissecans (OCDs) were found in both hind ankles, requiring surgery.

“I didn’t get to sit behind her for a while,” the conditioner said. “She had surgery and time off. She was at least six weeks behind my other babies.”

When Loveyoucookie was ready to train, Macomber placed her in the slower set of developing pacers. The freshman quickly began to make up for lost time.

“She was catching up with them a little too quickly, so I stopped with her a little bit and took my time,” Macomber said. “The next thing you know she was right back caught up with them again. She was perfect from day one. She never did anything wrong and kept pushing right through everything. Before we qualified, she was training in the good set.”

After two winning qualifiers in June, Loveyoucookie made her pari-mutuel debut at Harrah’s Hoosier Park on July 3. Steered by Ricky Macomber, Jr., the freshman took control after the quarter and won by half a length in a time of 1:56.3. She returned a week later to score in the opening round of Indiana Sires Stakes competition, winning by nearly three lengths with a 1:53.4 clocking. ‘Cookie’ as she is known around the barn, has added two more sires stakes runner-up performances and a show placing.

In Grand Circuit action at the Indiana State Fair, Loveyoucookie raced second to Papi Grad, timed in 1:52.1 with a 25-second last quarter.

“She’s consistent,” Jamie said. “I can count on her. She never has a bad day. She’s had a great year, especially when you start off having surgery on both back ankles. You always hope they recover from that. Not only did she recover, but she’s as good as can be.”

Loveyoucookie enters tonight’s Kentuckiana Stallion Management Stake after her worst performance of the season. Racing in the fifth leg of ISS action last week, the filly missed the board for the first time, crossing the wire fourth. Jamie noted that the young pacer had scoped sick after an Aug. 28 contest and that the most recent effort came as she was bouncing back from the ailment.

“She trained super this week,” she said. “She seems sharp.”

The Sept. 13 start was also the first with Dexter Dunn in the sulky. The adjustment was strategic for the Macomber Stable. With stablemate JK’s Flirty Girl on course to qualify for the Indiana Sires Stakes Super Final in October, another reinsman was needed for Loveyoucookie, currently second in points. Dunn was in town to drive in the Peter Haughton and Jim Doherty Memorials, sweeping both.

“We knew we would need a driver in the final for Cookie,” Jamie said. “We own part of the other filly, so Ricky has to drive her. We took the opportunity last week with Dexter being here and knowing he would be here [tonight]. At least get him in one leg, the Kentuckiana, and the Super Final. Whether he can drive her the last leg of sires stakes, we’ll see. We knew we would need a driver, so why not let him meet her now and get used to her before he goes for $250,000.”

The model of consistency has a 2-3-2 record from eight starts, with earnings of $85,195. She is the richest and fastest of Capt Midnight’s first crop thus far, and can add more in tonight’s fifth race, slated for 7:33 p.m. Loveyoucookie is 12-1 on the morning line in a field that includes Heart Song (1:52.1s, 6-1), Beckoning Yankee (1:54.4f, 9-5), Always Ana Hanover (1:54.1f, 2-1) and Sammy Jo Hanover (1:55.1f, 5-1).

Today’s Hoosier Park card is headlined by the $200,000 Caesars Trotting Classic and $165,000 Harrah’s Hoosier Park Pacing Derby. Nearly $1.4 million in purses are up for grabs over the 15-race program which kicks off with a 6 p.m. first post.