Entry box full ahead of break

CHICAGO - It's almost like an "everything must go" sale. Chicago horsemen are rushing in for one last spree before Hawthorne goes dark during the dead of winter.

Racing ends here Monday until late February, and 12 horses were entered in the Saturday feature, a third-level 1 1/16-mile allowance with a $35,000 claiming option. It's the kind of race that can be difficult to fill this time of year, but on this day, racing secretary Gary Duch's cup runneth over.

As race 8, the feature is part of the late pick four and, of course, several rolling pick threes, and this could be a spot to go reaching for some sort of price shot. The last two-turn race at this class level came Dec. 10, and several of the top finishers from that race, horses who will take betting action, might not be quite up to winning on Saturday.

Win Me Over finished first in that Dec. 10 race, only to be disqualified and placed far back in the field for interference in the stretch. was put up to first, and because he runs under the race's claiming option, is right back in Saturday. But with 10 places and 8 shows to just 5 wins - the last of them handed to him by the stewards - Marion's Man is not exactly a horse to be trusted for the top slot.

Also sure to get betting action is , who was shipped from Kentucky to Aqueduct and finished sixth in a high-end allowance race Dec. 16. Trained by Niall O'Callaghan, Summer Book has the high Beyer Speed Figures relished by many players, and is facing no such horse as Colita, a stakes-level performer who won the Aqueduct race. But Hawthorne can be a tricky locale for shippers, and Summer Book finished last of five here in his only other start, so he might not be the one, either.

Somewhat appealing at a price are . Restless Mon was an overlaid 24-1 when he won a second-level allowance race here Nov. 30; he's worked back twice since then for trainer Doug Matthews, and may even improve on his recent victory. Dress for Success cruised to an easy win over second-level Illinois-bred allowance horses in his most recent race, has always run well at Hawthorne through his fairly brief career, and, like Restless Mon, has been breezing regularly for the Saturday feature.