It Liz Again delivers breakthrough win for Miller

by James Platz

Prior to Wednesday evening (Aug. 19), trainer Gerald Miller had suffered a few near misses in Governor’s Cup championship races. But that changed when his trainee, It Liz Again, turned in a dominant stretch drive and another top performance to capture the $25,000 final for sophomore filly pacers at the Indiana State Fair. The 3-year-old bested the competition by nearly six lengths at the Indianapolis oval.

“She just takes care of business,” Miller said.

That she did. It Liz Again entered the fair finals on the strength of back-to-back wins at Converse and Portland earlier in the month. In seven fair starts, the sophomore collected four victories and finished third in divisional points with 223. Only Rita’s Girl (10 starts, 397 points) and Rockin Charli (seven starts, 269 points) accumulated more.

“I thought she would be one of the better ones in there,” the trainer said. “You never know, sometimes somebody else isn’t quite as good on a small track and on a big track they really shine. But I was pretty confident. I felt like we were the ones to beat.”

The Indiana fair circuit is contested on small tracks around the state, but the finals are held at the fairgrounds’ mile configuration. It Liz Again has experience on the bigger track. Before joining the fairs one month into the schedule, the pacer made 11 starts at Harrah’s Hoosier Park, beginning her campaign in early April.

Her seasonal debut came in the opening round of the Miss Windfall Series. She finished seventh that day in a race marred by an accident.

“She wasn’t in it, but it affected her,” Miller said. “We were able to avoid it, but it just took us out of the running.”

Over the next seven starts, It Liz Again hit the board six times, including a third-place effort in the $20,000 Windfall final followed by a pair of wins in conditioned events with LeWayne Miller in the sulky. After three off-the-board performances, the trainer recommended to breeder/co-owner Chris Choros and his partner, Therl Hensley, that the fairs might be a good spot for the 3-year-old.

“She wouldn’t get off the car very well,” Miller said. “And I think things just move a lot quicker up there. After she’d won a couple races, it just seemed like she was at a spot where she wanted to go in [1]:54 and her class wanted to go in [1]:53. And I think going to the fairs helped her a lot.”

As a freshman, It Liz Again raced on the fair circuit in 16 of 17 seasonal attempts, reaching the winner’s circle three times. She had proven to be competitive on the smaller tracks, and upon returning this season, she again found success, just not in her fair debut. Steered by Miller at Frankfort, the filly started from the second tier and finished last in the field of seven.

“After the first start or two, it just didn’t look like it was going to work out,” Miller said. “At that time, the class we were racing in at Hoosier stopped filling. So, we were going to have to find something else anyway.”

It Liz Again rebounded to turn in a solid fair campaign and qualify for the Governor’s Cup championships. Miller is no stranger to the fair finals. Working for years as an assistant trainer for Don Eash, the stable collected several fair finals trophies. Since going out on his own, reaching the winner’s circle at the Indiana State Fair in August has eluded him.

And this year has presented its own set of challenges. Miller began the fair campaign with sophomore gelding trotter Swan Bar, a horse he owns in partnership with Hensley and John Wilson that was an early contender in the division and a potential Governor’s Cup starter. The son of Swan For All scored consecutive wins at Converse to start the fairs before being sidelined. Despite only two starts, the gelding ranks 10th in divisional points.

“It’s been up and down,” Miller said. “I had a really nice trotter that I raced the first couple fairs and I thought I was going to have a lot of fun with him. He wound up injuring a knee and having to sit out.”

It Liz Again’s victory has helped soften the harsh realities of the up-and-down season. The efforts of the Highalator—American Farrah filly also helped Miller bag his first Governor’s Cup championship as a trainer.

“It was pretty great,” he said. “I guess I hadn’t really thought about it. It was kind of a big moment because it’s never gone my way on that day before. I’ve driven in a bunch of them, been second a bunch of times with other people’s horses. I was a neck or so from winning it two years ago with Bluebird Alexis and Don beat me that day.”

That day, Eash, his former employer, piloted Tell’s Rock N Roll to victory, leaving Miller with another near miss. By contrast, It Liz Again left little doubt Wednesday. Mike Peterson, who drove the filly to her two victories leading into the final, was back at the controls. In those contests, her winning margin of victory was four lengths and 15½ lengths, respectively.

When the gate folded in the night’s fifth race, Peterson dropped It Liz Again in second behind leader Rita’s Girl through a :27 first fraction before assuming control. Reaching the half in :55, the filly was shuffled when Rita’s Girl, driven by Kevin Detweiler, moved back to the top and passed three quarters in 1:23.3. It Liz Again put the race out of reach with a powerful :29.2 last quarter, taking a quarter-length margin at the head of the stretch and adding another 5½ lengths before stopping the clock in 1:53.1.

The winning time established a new lifetime mark for the filly. It Liz Again has earned $55,455 for her connections, and now she is a Governor’s Cup champion. As is Miller.

“I’ve had her since I picked her up as a yearling at Schwartz Boarding Farm,” he said. “I broke her and raced her ever since. She just never gets tired. She just keeps chugging, you know?”