Each of the two divisions of the Lady Suffolk trot at Freehold Raceway on Saturday (May 1) featured an odds-on favorite. In both cases, the chalk went down in defeat, as Izzy Demsky and Spruce Creek prevailed in their respective splits. In the first flight, Illuminata, driven by trainer Ake Svanstedt, was the 3-5 favorite in the seven-horse field. Izzy Demsky, a three-time winner in the New York Sire Stakes Excelsior A Series last summer, was 7-2. Svanstedt put Illuminata on the lead early, and she cruised through fractions of 27 4/5, 58, and 1:27 4/5. Although she looked clear turning for home, she grew leg-weary in the last eighth, and Izzy Demsky surged by her tired rival from first-over in the lane en route to winning by two lengths in 1:58 4/5. Jula Shines On, also trained by Svanstedt and driven by his wife, Sara, got up for second, while Illuminata was third. The Queen B, Victoriana, Just Joshing, and Lilybet completed the order of finish. Izzy Demsky is owned by Courant Inc., trained by Marcus Melander, and driven by Mattias Melander. In her career, she's now won four times from nine starts, with earnings of over $50,000. "It didn't work out as I thought it would. I wanted to go for a position up front, but everybody left (off the gate), and she actually hit the bike in the turn for me, so I had to pull her up," remarked Mattias Melander. "But everything turned out good after that. She was real good. She was better than she was last week. I was very happy with her." In the second division, Ron Burke trainee Hot As Hill was the overwhelming 2-5 favorite in the field of seven. However, while on the lead at the three-eighths point, she made a costly break. While Joe Bongiorno quickly got her back trotting, she was parked on the outside and lost precious ground. Meanwhile, Julie Miller-trained Alpine, with driver Andy Miller, inherited the lead as a result, and turned for home still in command. However, 15-1 longshot Spruce Creek, who was rated on the pylons the whole way by Dan Dube, stormed up the outside late to win by 2 1/2 lengths in 1:58. Alpine, Insured Am S, Move Over Some, Hot As Hill, Presto, and Big Sky Suprise rounded out the order of finish. "Everything went my way; we had a lot of racing luck. But she was good last week, and I knew she wasn’t supposed to be a longshot like that (today); she fit in with them," said Dube. "Everything went good. She still has the ear plugs in, and she’s going to get better and better." Spruce Creek is owned by Robert and Yolanda Fellows, and Erna Corbeil, and trained by Ron Coyne Jr. She's now won four times from 11 career starts, with earnings of more than $60,000. Three of those victories have come at Freehold. --edited press release (Freehold)/quotes by Ken Weingartner--