Hawthorne Harness: Night of Champions for 2019 in the books

After a string of weeks of gorgeous weather at Hawthorne Race Course, Mother Nature wasn’t nearly as kind when it came to Saturday’s Night of Champions. The 12-race card kicked off with a fast track, but the skies opened up prior to the start of the 11 stakes events, leaving for sloppy going through the stakes action.

THE ROBERT S. MOLARO CHAMPIONSHIP

Jim Ballinger’s Fox Valley Gemini, two-time Illinois Horse of the Year, went off as the 1-5 favorite in the $45,000 Robert S. Molaro and didn’t disappoint. Winning his fourth straight race, Fox Valley Gemini drew off to a commanding victory, getting the mile in a lifetime-best of 1:50. At the finish, he was 7 1/2 lengths clear of the rest of the field. Dakota Roadster got up for second, while Royale Rose got third.

Driven by Casey Leonard and trained by Terry Leonard, Fox Valley Gemini won for the 30th time from only 39 starts.

THE FOX VALLEY FLAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Lous Abigail, winning for the seventh time in 10 starts, took Saturday’s $82,000 Fox Valley Flan Championship, for 2-year-old Illinois conceived and foaled (ICF) trotters. Driven by leading driver Casey Leonard and trained by Steven Searle, Lous Abigail won by a comfortable 4 3/4 lengths. Owned by Flacco Family Farms LLC., Lous Abigail got the mile in 2:00 1/5 after fractions of 29 4/5, 58 4/5, and 1:28 3/5.

Bee See held on for second, while Fox Valley Lush finished third.

THE INCREDIBLE TILLIE CHAMPIONSHIP

Morning-line favorite but second choice in the wagering, Fox Valley Exploit, owned by David Brigham and Kyle Husted, and driven and trained by Husted, won the $115,000 Incredible Tillie Championship for 2-year-old ICF filly pacers by 3 1/2 lengths. They raced through fractions of 29 4/5, 58 4/5, and 1:28 3/5, with a final time of 2:00 1/5.

Sign Her Up, the slight wagering favorite, finished second, with Sleazy Gal third after leading from post ten.

THE PLESAC CHAMPIONSHIP

Danny S. Graham’s Annas Lucky Star, already a track record holder, simply dominated in Saturday’s $45,000 Plesac Championship for 3-year-old and up ICF trotters. She took the lead quickly and won as she pleased, going off at 1-9 and drawing off to win by 15 lengths. Her time of 1:56 3/5 was seconds slower than her lifetime best of 1:53 1/5, but it didn’t matter. She set modest fractions of 30, 59, and 1:27 3/5.

Trained by Nelson Willis and driven by Kyle Wilfong, Annas Lucky Star won for the 33rd time in her career, and her ninth from 15 starts in 2019.

Primed N Powerful tracked all the way and held for second, with Majistic Caprice finishing third.

THE BEULAH DYGERT MEMORIAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Flacco Family Farms’ popular filly Louzotic made every pole a winning one in the $95,000 Beulah Dygert Memorial Championship for 3-year-old ICF filly trotters. Winning for the 11th time in 15 starts this year, including her fifth straight, Louzotic had regular driver Kyle Husted in the bike. This talented filly is trained by Steven Searle.

She finished 6 1/4 lengths ahead of rival Heidi High, with Lous Paramour getting up for the show dough.

Louzotic led all the way through fractions of 29 1/5, 59 4/5, and 1:29 4/5, with a final time of 1:58 3/5.

THE ERWIN F. DYGERT CHAMPIONSHIP

Lourhianon, winning for the second straight time since getting Lasix, overcame the outside post position and the sloppy track to take the $92,000 Erwin F. Dygert Memorial for 3-year-old ICF colt and gelding trotters in drawing-away fashion. Owned by C. Lawrence McBurney, trained by Kennedy Lindsey, and driven by Luke Plano, Lourhianon took the lead soon after coming out of the far turn, raced wide through the stretch, and still won by 6 3/4 lengths.

He got the mile in 1:57 3/5 after fractions of 29 4/5, 59 4/5, and 1:29. Frontier Manard grabbed second, with For Trots Sakes coming in third.

THE KADABRA CHAMPIONSHIP

When favored Fox Valley Quest broke coming out of the first turn in Saturday’s $108,000 Kadabra Championship for 2-year-old ICF colt and gelding trotters, that opened up the opportunity for everybody else, and Ed Teefey’s Crooked Creek took advantage. Winning for the third straight time and the fifth time in nine races, Ryan Anderson guided this Mike Brink trainee to a six length victory in 1:55 3/5. Desert Sheik, another Brink-trained trotter, finished second. Longshot Fitchey For Fun snagged third place.

Fractions for the race were 29 4/5, 58 1/5, and 1:27 3/5.

THE INCREDIBLE FINALE CHAMPIONSHIP

Triple Zzz Stable's He’zzz A Wise Sky was a 3 1/4 winner in Saturday’s $102,000 Incredible Finale Championship, which was for 2-year-old ICF colt and gelding pacers. His victory was his fifth straight from only seven races. Trained by Donald Filomeno, He’zzz A Wise Sky was guided to the victory by Robert Smolin.

Favored Fox Valley Ren, who had won seven of nine races, finished second, with RJ Wulfy finishing third.

He covered the mile in 1:55 after fractions of 28 3/5, 57 4/5 and 1:27 1/5.

THE ROBERT F. CAREY JR. MEMORIAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Fox Valley Triton, who was beaten as the favorite in his last leg of the Carey, made amends in the $109,000 Robert F. Carey Jr. Memorial Championship on Saturday night. The Carey was for 3-year-old ICF colt and gelding pacers. Owned by Dandy Farms Racing, FT Racing, and Peter A. Kouchis, trained by Terry Leonard, and driven by Casey Leonard (his third win of the night), Fox Valley Triton eked out a neck victory over Meyer On Fire. Maximus finished third. With fractions of 28 3/5, 57 3/5, and 1:26 1/5, he got the mile in 1:54 1/5

THE PLUM PEACHY CHAMPIONSHIP

Fox Valley Halsey made it two in-a-row with a victory in Saturday’s $100,000 Plum Peachy for 3-year-old ICF pacing fillies. Owned by Cynthia Kay Willis and Ronnie J. and Jerry D. Graham, Fox Valley Halsey is trained by Nelson Willis and was driven by Juan Franco. Fox Valley Halsey finished a neck ahead of Fox Valley Lil Kim, with Fox Valley Torrid a neck behind.

She covered the mile in 1:54 4/5 after fractions of 28 4/5, 58 1/5, and 1:25 3/5.

THE TONY MAURELLO CHAMPIONSHIP

Francis L. Greer and James E. Greer’s Skeeter Machine won the finale on the Night of Champions. The race, the $45,000 Tony Maurello Championship, was for older ICF pacing mares. Trained by Nicole Agosti and driven by Kyle Husted (his third victory of the night), Skeeter Machine won for the fifth time this year and the 17th time in her career. The final race of the night brought fractions of 28 1/5, 57, and 1:25 1/5, with a final time of 1:54.

Whiskersonkittens got up for second-place, a half-length back, while there was a dead-heat for third-place between San Antonio Rose and Fox Valley Charm.

--press release (Hawthorne)--