Illinois’ best on display in Night of Champions at Hawthorne
by Neil Milbert
It’s the richest night of the year in Illinois harness racing and the state’s 2024 Horse of the Year, Cash Money Twenty, is ready to rumble.
The 3-year-old gelding will be in quest of his 20th victory in a 26-race career that has seen him finish worse than second only twice when he meets nine other 3-year-old colts and geldings in Saturday’s (Nov. 15) $110,000 Robert F. Carey, Jr. Memorial pace, one of the 12 Night of Champions races for Illinois-bred pacers at Hawthorne Race Course.
Purses add up to $1.1 million.
Last year Cash Money Twenty was one of the stars of Super Night when he won the Incredible Finale for 2-year-old male pacers.
Casey Leonard, who owns Cash Money Twenty in partnership with Heart & Soul Racing of Des Moines, IA, will be back in the sulky for trainer Mike Brink.
The son of Stevensville—Hostess Lisa, by Sagebrush is going into Saturday night’s race with a record of eight wins and four places in 13 starts this year.
“Other than a little hiccup [when he finished out of the mutuel money] he has been great all year,” Leonard said. “Mike has done a great job of managing him. A couple of his seconds were against older horses in free-for-alls.”
In last weekend’s eliminations, Cash Money Twenty extended his winning streak to three races with a resounding 5¼-length triumph as the 3-5 favorite.
The second-place finisher was Battlin Bob, the gelding who defeated Cash Money Twenty by a half-length on Oct. 8 at Springfield.
Trained by Robert Walker and driven by Travis Seekman, Battlin Bob also has been having a productive career as attested by his 24-race resume consisting of 11 wins, eight places, and four shows and a best time of 1:50.3 this summer at Springfield.
Another candidate for an upset is Dialogue, the second-place finisher behind Cash Money Twenty on the Night of Champions last year and in last weekend’s eliminations. He is trained by Kimberly Roth and will be driven by Kyle Wilfong.
Previews of the other 11 Night of Champions races in chronological order:
$50,000 TONY MAURELLO MEMORIAL PACE FOR FILLIES AND MARES
Scorecard Dandy, the Illinois-bred champion older mare pacer for the last two years and the defending champion in this race, returned to win her elimination race after competing in open company at Running Aces and Hoosier Park.
Trained by Gregory Kain, Scorecard Dandy will have Wilfong at the reins.
Fox Valley Tessa recorded the biggest upset on last year’s Night of Champions card when she kicked back mutuel payoffs of $25.60, $19, and $9 after winning the Plum Peachy for 3-year-olds.
Now, four of her nine opponents in the Maurello are older horses.
Fox Valley Tessa has had a workaholic 34-race campaign for trainer Amy Husted this year and her past performance sheet shows seven triumphs, four seconds and six thirds. After making three starts at Dayton in October, Fox Valley Tessa returned to Illinois this month and Husted’s husband, Kyle, drove her to victory in the eliminations.
$118,000 KADABRA FOR 2-YEAR-OLD COLT AND GELDING TROTTERS
Trainer Erv Miller and his driver/son Marcus are going into the Night of Champions with some standouts and one of the most notable is Fox Valley Snapper, a winner of five of his six races.
“He has had a light schedule, trying to keep him fresh and pointing to this race,” Marcus said.
Judging from his elimination race, Fox Valley Snapper is ready for prime-time. After leading all the way to win at DuQuoin and Hoosier, the gelding rebounded from an out-of-character sixth place finish in the Cardinal at Springfield and surged from 9¼ lengths back for a compelling three-quarters-of-a-length conquest in his elimination race.
Fox Valley Sahbra couldn’t handle an off track in that race and was beaten by 30 lengths but Leonard and trainer Tom Simmons believe he has the right stuff to rebound against nine adversaries in the Kadabra.
“He’s kind of a late bloomer,” Leonard said of the gelding who won three straight at Springfield before being badly beaten in the elimination. He is going into the Kadabra with a 13-race composite consisting of five wins, a pair of places, and two shows.
“He’s a good-sized horse and he [decisively] won the Cardinal in September at Springfield. “He has done it on the front end and he has done it by coming from off the pace.”
$110,000 FOX VALLEY FLAN FOR 2-YEAR-OLD FILLY PACERS
Simmons and Leonard appear to have the class act in this 10-horse race in Shady Maple Chick as suggested by her nine triumphs and two seconds in 13 outings.
“She got sick and couldn’t race in her elimination but now she should be good to go in the final,” Leonard said.
The elimination winners were Fox Valley Gimlet (6 4-0-1) and Fox Valley Cougar (11 3-2-4). Erv Miller trains and Marcus Miller will drive Fox Valley Gimlet, while trainer Curt Grummel will have Wilfong at the reins of Fox Valley Cougar.
$50,000 CARL BECKER MEMORIAL TROT FOR FILLIES AND MARES
The 4-year-old Whiskey Lou has been victorious on the Night of Champions for the past two years and was the 2024 state champion 3-year-old filly.
In compiling a 17-race record of 7-3-3 this year in addition to racing in Illinois, Grummel has pitted her against open company foes at Tioga, Dayton, and Hoosier and she has given a good account of herself.
“She’s probably my easiest horse to drive [Saturday night],” said Marcus Miller, who will be in the bike when Whiskey Lou leaves from the outside post position in the field of 10. “She’s the ultimate professional.”
Lady Tru Grit, a 4-year-old trained by Nick Prather and driven by Juan Franco, looks like the best of the rest. After failing to reach the winner’s circle in her first six outings, Lady Tru Grit has been triumphant in three of her last four races.
$50,000 PHIL LANGLEY MEMORIAL PACE FOR OLDER MALES
He’zzz A Wise Sky, the defending state champion older male trotter and the winner of this race last year, was driven by Leonard for the first time in his 162-race career, when he finished third in the elimination.
“It seems like we raced a million times against each other with me driving Fox Valley Gemini [the winner of a Night of Champions race for six straight years],” said Leonard, who will be back in the sulky Saturday. “I’m grateful [trainer] John Filomeno is giving me the opportunity to drive him. He had a tough post in the elimination, the track wasn’t ideal and I had to use him hard.
“I was very impressed and I’m anticipating a good effort.”
The 8-year-old horse will have nine opponents.
The 5-year-old gelding Fox Valley Kodiak came from Hoosier to win the elimination for trainer Nelson Willis and Wilfong as the 6-5 favorite.
“I’ve been driving him in opens at Hoosier and he’s a really nice horse,” Wilfong said. “It’s a pleasure to team with Nelson. He kind of got me going at Balmoral [Park] when I started out. We’ve had some good horses together.”
Another noteworthy member of the field is Gorgeous Big Guy, a 4-year-old horse trained by Ron Burke and driven by Marcus Miller. He has won only four of his 30 races this year but 10 places and six shows reflect the potential he showed last year when he won 11 of 14 starts and was never out of the money.
“He got some time off [from Sept. 20 through Oct. 28] because he raced so hard in the opens,” Marcus said. “He took it easy in the qualifier and got a nice trip in the elimination [in which he was second]. He’s set up for a real good race.”
$142,000 INCREDIBLE TILLIE PACE FOR 2-YEAR-OLD FILLIES
Fox Valley Fastrak, a filly with a flair for being on the front end, is eight-for-nine for Erv and Marcus Miller and figures to be a heavy favorite in the 10-horse race.
“She has been rock solid,” Marcus said. “That night at Hoosier [when she finished out of the money] my brother-in-law, Atlee Bender drove her — they had the 9-hole, she was scared of the gate and didn’t quite make it to the gate.”
Brandon Bates drove the Simmons-trained Fox Valley Tamara to her second victory in her last three races as the 6-5 favorite in the eliminations. The other elimination winner was Dnt Touche Mymooss, a 10-1 longshot trained by Gary Rath and driven by Franco.
$138,000 INCREDIBLE FINALE PACE FOR 2-YEAR-OLD COLTS AND GELDINGS
Casey Leonard will be driving Dandy’s Beach, an elimination winner at odds of 7-1 for his father/trainer/co-owner Terry Leonard.
“He drew inside all the good ones and the really good ones drew far outside,” Casey said. “The fractions were slow; I took advantage and he paced a nice last quarter. We’ve been pointing him for this race.”
Mighty Engine pulled off an even bigger upset in his division, winning at odds of 16-1 for trainer Prather and driver Bender.
Sleazy Captain is another horse to watch in the 10-horse race. He is a member of [trainer] Amy and [driver] Kyle Husted’s team and his 11-race record shows four firsts, five places, and one third.
$50,000 PLESAC TROT FOR OLDER MALES
Lous Lancelot. a 6-year-old son of Lou’s Legacy bred by Flacco Family Farms and owned, trained, and driven by James Lackey is one of the most intriguing horses on the card. After competing for the previous two months at Vernon Downs and Saratoga he came to Hawthorne and led all the way in winning his elimination by 4¼ lengths.
There are only seven entrants and the competition doesn’t appear to be strong.
$116,000 PLUM PEACHY FOR 3-YEAR-OLD FILLIES
Fox Valley Lava is coming into the 10-filly race on a roll for trainer/co-owner Kevin Miller and driver Brandon Bates, thanks to a four-race winning streak. She has had a busy and successful campaign as evidenced by a 25-race record of 17 wins, two places, and three shows.
At odds of 12-1, Two Bean Dream was a come-from behind winner of the other elimination for trainer Simmons and driver Wilfong.
The heavy favorite in that race was Fox Valley Jasmine, who’d won her preceding races at Dayton for Erv Miller. She led until late stretch when Two Bean Dream overtook her to win by a length.
$88,000 ERWIN F. DYGERT MEMORIAL TROT FOR 3-YEAR-OLD COLTS AND GELDINGS
Sunburnt Silverado, with nine wins and four places in 14 races, is the horse to beat in the field of 10. The gelding is trained by co-owner Grummel and will be driven by co-owner
Wilfong.
Frontier Macho has been having difficulty finding the winner’s circle lately but has been coming close with three places in his last four races for Simmons. Leonard will be doing the driving.
$83,000 BEULAH DYGERT MEMORIAL FOR 3-YEAR-OLD FILLY TROTTERS
Trainer and co-owner Steve Searle and Leonard will be seeking an encore performance from Lou’s My Number after she won last year’s Fox Valley Flan and went on to be crowned the state champion 2-year-old filly trotter.
Her 4½-length victory in the elimination as the even-money favorite sends her into Saturday’s 10-horse race with a 14-race record of four wins, three places, and three shows.
“Last year she broke the track record [for 2-year-old filly trotters on the Night of Champions] and she broke it again the following week,” Leonard said. “This year we were having a little trouble controlling her speed but in October we worked hard to get her where she could be reeled back in. Her last trip was a lifetime best 1:54.1 in less-than-ideal conditions in the eliminations.”
Lous Avalon finished a non-threatening second at odds of 32-1 in that race for trainer Searle and driver Wyatt Avenatti and Kays In Charge was third at 3-1 odds for Simmons and Marcus Miller. With seven wins, four places, and one show in 13 starts this year, Kay’s In Charge looks like the biggest threat to Lou’s My Number succeeding as a Night of Champions winner again this year.
