I Got It All challenges River Bear in Lightning Jet

STICKNEY, Ill. – The talented 3-year-old I Got It All never has faced older horses. He has found one in the Lightning Jet Handicap on Saturday at Hawthorne.

River Bear is 9, and before I Got It All even was foaled, he had started twice in the Lightning Jet. River Bear hasn’t run a top race since April, but trainer Rusty Hellman thinks the aging gelding still has another good one in him.

And there is more to the six-furlong Lightning Jet, worth about $75,000 and restricted to Illinois-breds, than just those two. Sweet Luca beat Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Work All Week in July at Arlington, though he is not quite as good on dirt as on synthetic or turf. Also in the field are the sharp class riser Goesse and a pair of plausible turnback horses, Copus and Luv Bandit

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Lightning Jet, race 8

KEY CONTENDERS

I Got It All (Last 3 Beyers: 100-88-73)

◗ Has the field’s only triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure, earned last time in winning an open dirt-sprint allowance at Keeneland.

◗ A comfortable course and distance winner here in April in the Land of Lincoln Stakes.

◗ Trainer Tom Swearingen never fully understood why I Got It All ran so poorly in his career debut, but three other starts against Illinois-breds produced three wins by a combined margin of almost 30 lengths.

◗ On the negative side of the ledger, he breaks from the rail for the first time and is likely to be bet significantly below his 7-2 morning-line odds.

Sweet Luca (Last 3 Beyers: 89-92-92)

◗ Exits two turf routes but the last start at six furlongs produced a win over BC Sprint winner Work All Week. That victory, however, came on Polytrack, and Sweet Luca hasn’t won a dirt race since October 2012.

River Bear (Last 3 Beyers: 73-65-79)

◗ Age-related decline will set in at some point, but he’s probably still in better form than his races since a win in the Bob Molaro Handicap here this past spring would suggest. His third-place finish last out at Hawthorne was a prep for this start.

“We feel like he can move forward from that race,” said Hellman, his trainer. “Right now, he’s firing on all cylinders.”

Richies Sweetheart favored in Powerless

Richies Sweetheart, a very good turf sprinter, showed she could run farther than short sprint distances and that she can handle dirt in winning a Hawthorne allowance race Nov. 15, and if she repeats that performance, she has a good chance to win the Powerless Handicap, a six-furlong dash for Illinois-bred fillies and mares.

But at a short price, and with other speed horses in the field, handicappers might take a shot at beating Richies Sweetheart.

Powerless, race 6

KEY CONTENDERS

Richies Sweetheart (Last 3 Beyers: 86-82-85)

◗ Trainer Larry Rivelli readily concedes that Richies Sweetheart favors synthetics and turf over dirt, but he’s not concerned with racing surface Saturday. “I think against Illinois-breds, it probably doesn’t matter.”

◗ From an outside draw, Richies Sweetheart could stalk the pace, but Rivelli thinks she will lead. “I love the outside draw, but I think she’ll make the lead regardless,” he said.

Summer Again (Last 3 Beyers: 68-80-66)

◗ Makes her first start in slightly more than a year but has been training with verve and has the talent to contend. Mainly a route horse to date, she should have a chance to rally into a hot sprint pace.

Sasy Ms Elizabeth (Last 3 Beyers: 39-70-68)

◗ Throw out her last race, as she became very unsettled in the gate and never ran a jump. Beat Richies Sweetheart in a six-furlong stakes here about one year ago.