by Neil Milbert

Rain that intensified as the night wore on marred Saturday’s (Nov. 9) $1,577,437 main event in Illinois racing but the gloomy conditions didn’t stop the state’s best standardbreds from playing starring roles on the Night of Champions program at Hawthorne Race Course.

The richest of the 12 races for Illinois-breds was the $226,545 Incredible Finale for 2-year-old male pacers and Cash Money Twenty, a gelding trained by Steve Searle and driven by Casey Leonard, went to the winner’s circle for the 11th time in a 12-race career in which his lone loss was a second-place finish.

In the Incredible Finale, which played out the way it looked on paper, Dialogue came in second with Kyle Wilfong at the reins and Battlin Bob was third with Travis Seekman in the sulky.

Cash Money Twenty, who went off at 1-9, won by a head in 1:52.1 on a track that was still labeled fast before being designated as sloppy for the next four races that concluded the card. Battlin Bob took charge early and posted fractional times of :28.1, :57 and 1:24.3 in building a five-length lead by the three-quarter call while Cash Money Twenty and Dialogue were racing three-wide.

In the stretch, Battlin Bob faded and for Cash Money Twenty and Dialogue the race became a fight to the finish-line.

“Dialogue has been a nice horse all year and I figured him to be my No. 1 competitor and he proved to be,” Leonard said.

Leonard drove two other winners: Lou’s My Number, who took the richest trotting race, the $144,637 Fox Valley Flan in 1:56.4, which set the track record for a 2-year-old filly, and Whiskey Lou, who recorded her 13th triumph in 14 outings this year in the $109,658 Beulah Dygert Memorial for 3-year-old filly trotters.

Whiskey Lou’s four-length margin of victory over Peekaboo Sal while playing the role of 1-5 favorite equaled the second widest of the night and it came on a sloppy surface in 1:56.2. Trained by Curt Grummel for owner/breeder Randy Witt, she was one of four winners on the card by the state’s leading sire, Lou’s Legacy.

“The first time I drove her I said, ‘She feels like she would go through a brick wall for you,’” Leonard said. “Curt does a great job of pointing her for these races. I didn’t know this race would shake out but I knew I’d be moving toward the front and could do it any way I wanted. Once I got there the outcome was never in question.”

Whiskey Lou took command on the turn for home and went on to win easily.

Lou’s My Number also is a daughter of Lou’s Legacy. Trained by her co-owner and co-breeder Steve Searle, the record-breaker in the state’s most lucrative trotting race began her career on the county fair circuit.

“It’s kind of a different path than we normally take but it shows where we’re at [economically in Illinois],” Leonard said. “I hadn’t gone to a county fair in 15 years; it was a new kind of experience.”

Lou’s My Number went off at 7-1 in the field of eight. Going into the first turn Kays In Charge broke stride and Lou’s My Number took a lead that she held into the stretch.

“We had pretty mild fractions and I knew it was going to be a sprint for home,” Leonard said. “Kyle Wilfong’s filly [What A Legacy] stuck her head in front of me [in mid-stretch] but once she got by me her gait changed dramatically; she ran [just before the wire] and that made us the winner [by 1¼ lengths].”

It was the third victory of a 10-race career in which Lou’s My Number never has been worse than third.

Marcus Miller was another driver who took three trips to the winner’s circle, two with his father, trainer, Erv Miller, and the other with Grummel.

Marcus’ most lucrative conquest came with Gorgeous Big Guy, the 1-5 choice in the $155,244 Robert F. Carey, Jr. Memorial for 3-year-old colt and gelding pacers.

“It played out exactly the way I wanted it,” Marcus said after Gorgeous Big Guy won for the 11th time in 12 races this year for Erv Miller after finishing second by a head two races earlier. “I put him out front and it was up to him. There’s nobody around here that can keep up. His biggest attribute is that he tries hard; he loves to beat them.”

Gorgeous Big Guy won this race by three-quarters-of-a-length over Guitar Man in 1:51.3.

Earlier Louise’s Legacy took trainer, co-owner and co-breeder Erv and his son to the winner’s circle with a half-length victory over Frontier Macho as the 6-5 favorite in the $132,858 Kadabra for 2-year-old male trotters.

“The track was pretty firm [for the Kadabra, which was the second race],” Marcus said. “A lot of horses were making breaks around him. I just had to keep him out of trouble. Once I got him to the last turn it was pretty much over.”

Louise’s Legacy won in 1:56.4, giving him an 11-race resume consisting of four wins, four places and three shows.

Marcus and Grummel had only three horses to beat when they won the $80,000 Carl Becker Memorial for older mares with 2-5 favorite Marvelous Mystery. The 4-year-old mare bested 6-year-old Loulita by one length in 1:55.4 in a race in which daughters of Lou’s Legacy were 1-2.

“I hadn’t driven her since Springfield [on Sept. 12],” Marcus said. “She’s easy to drive and she tries hard. I was confident.”

That confidence manifested itself when Marvelous Mystery took the lead from Loulita in the opening quarter and held it the rest of the way en route to her third victory in seven starts this year.

In the $134,744 Erwin F. Dygert Memorial for 3-year-old male trotters, Erv had Wilfong driving Tru Cash and son Marcus at the reins of the favorite Jewels For Champ.

Dispatched at 3-1, Tru Cash took advantages of traffic problems encountered by opponents and delivered a 2¼-length victory over Amy and Kyle Husted’s horse, Shady Maple Alstar. Tru Cash went the distance in 1:56.3 on a sloppy track to win for the third time in a 14-race 2024 campaign in which he has finished worse than third only once.

“Tru Cash was a nice pick up; I’d never driven him before,” Wilfong said.

Little Chipper took an early lead and maintained it through three quarters. He tired in the lane and Shady Maple Alstar and Lous Private Eye were unable to find racing room to capitalize.

Instead Wilfong had a clear path down the lane.

“By the time he got to the last turn he was fifth over,” Wilfong said. “So, I went to the rail in the stretch. I got a little room and he just exploded.”

The second richest race on the program was the $224,623 Incredible Tillie for 2-year-old filly pacers and 1-5 favorite Thebeautifulthings won by four lengths in 1:52.3 for trainer Amy Husted and her driver husband Kyle Husted.

Thebeautifulthings stalked the pace set by Wildcat Abby for three quarters before making a powerful move in the stretch in equaling the night’s biggest winning margin. Wildcat Abby salvaged second.

Thebeautifulthings’ past performance sheet is a beautiful thing to behold; eight impressive wins in nine starts.

Wyatt Avanatti was in the bike for trainer and co-owner Searle when 11-1 longshot Fox Valley Tessa scored the night’s biggest upset, kicking back payoffs of $25.60, $18 and $9 when she won for the second time in 11 starts this year in the $180,701 Plum Peachy for 3-year-old filly pacers.

Fox Valley Tessa bided her time before coming from behind to close strongly and win by 1¾ lengths on a sloppy surface.

Perennial Night of Champions champion He’zzz A Wise Sky had Wilfong back in the sulky when the 7-year-old horse won the $60,000 Phil Langley Memorial for older pacers for trainer John Filomeno and Triple Zzz Stable.

He defeated last year’s Carey Memorial winner Fox Valley Landen by 1¼ lengths in 1:50.3. Fox Valley Langley was third and six-time Night of Champions winner Fox Valley Gemini was fourth in this summit conference of the state’s most accomplished horses.

Both the winner and the second-place horse were sent off at 9-5.

“He’s so fast and he’s so gutsy,” Wilfong said after He’zzz A Wise Sky won for the eighth time in 29 outings this year and for the 56th time in his 131-race career. “He can lay down those fast fractions and hold on at the end. He’s remarkable.”

In the Langley, he took the lead from Fox Valley Landen on the backstretch, slowed down on the turn for him and then accelerated in the stretch.

Wilfong’s other triumphs came with Scorecard Dandy in the $60,000 Tony Maurello Memorial for older pacing mares and Niko Man in the $60,000 Plesac for older male trotters.

According to Wilfong, Scorecard Dandy “had to work hard to get to the front [in the opening quarter] but after she got there and had it her way there was no catching her.”

Bombay Park was second — three lengths back of the winner — and Fox Valley Leah was third.

Trained by Gregory Kane, the 6-year-old winner was clocked in 1:51.2 as she won for the fourth time in 23 races this year.

Niko Man is a 4-year-old gelding trained by Ken Rucker. Living up to the expectations of bettors who made him the 1-5 favorite he won by 3½ lengths in 1:54 on a sloppy track. Lous Lancelot was second and Lousdobb came in third.

Last year’s Illinois Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old male trotter Goomster broke stride at the start and wound up last in the six-horse race.

The triumph was Niko Man’s ninth in 24 races this year. He came from the middle of the field to make the lead after three quarters and drew off.

Wilfong said: “I got position early; when I called on him, he did the job like the professional he is.”

Finish lines: The Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association has announced the names of the individuals and horses that will be inducted into the organization’s Hall of Fame on March 1 at its annual banquet in Springfield. They are Terry Leonard, Freddie Patton, Jr., Bill Wright, Tom Tetrick (posthumous), Mucho Sleazy, Fox Valley Tribal and King Johnny. Also to be honored are Tom and LeeAnn Shinn, recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award.