A little more than five years ago, John Filomeno approached his father, Donald, and suggested they partner on a racehorse.

Donald had been involved in harness racing since the mid-1960s as an owner and trainer of his own small stable, but he was now 76 and John figured it would be a great way for dad and son to spend more time together.

Donald agreed, but said he had a better idea. He suggested the two men partner on the soon-to-be-born first foal out of the family’s homebred pacing mare Gimmeazzzmooch. John, who had helped at his father’s stable in his younger days but halted his involvement for more than two decades while raising four children with his wife Cherise, went along with the idea despite it being a riskier proposition financially.

“There is a lot of cash laid out before you even know if you have anything,” John said. “But that’s what he wanted. He gave me pretty much everything I wanted my whole life, so I agreed to do it. There are a lot of things in life that I didn’t listen to my father about. It’s a good thing I listened to him about this one.”

Good thing because that foal, Hezzz A Wise Sky, has grown up to be an Illinois star.

Hezzz A Wise Sky, a now five-year-old son of stallion Yankee Skyscaper, has won 22 of 50 races and earned $319,531. At age three in 2020, he was named Illinois Horse of the Year. In 2021, he was honoured as the state’s best older male pacer.

On Friday, he returns to begin his 2022 campaign by racing in the Open at Hawthorne Racecourse, where he is the 5-2 morning-line favoruite with Kyle Wilfong in the sulky.

“I’ve been around horses a long time, but I’ve never been around a horse that is this caliber with this much heart,” said John, who in the last year has taken over the bulk of the training duties from his father. “He’s our pride and joy.”

It was a difficult start, though. Hezzz A Wise Sky saw his career nearly derailed before it began at age two when he was found to be suffering from the neurological disease equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). John sent the colt to the University of Illinois for the diagnosis and a subsequent treatment program enabled the horse to recover in time to begin racing in August of that season.

Hezzz A Wise Sky raced seven times at two, winning his final five starts, including the Illinois Conceived and Foaled (ICF) Governor’s Cup and the Incredible Finale championship. At three, he won three preliminary legs and the final of the Robert F. Carey Jr. Memorial as well as three other ICF events and opens at Hawthorne and Hoosier Park.

Last year, he captured the Gregg Haston Memorial Invitational at Hoosier and was a five-time Open winner at Hawthorne.

For his career, he has hit the board a total of 41 times and missed a paycheque only three times in his 50 races.

“I tell people there is one thing this horse can’t do; he can’t read a program,” John said. “It doesn’t matter who he races against, he gives you everything he’s got every start. I can’t say enough about him. Just to race in this kind of company, it’s unbelievable. It’s unbelievable that our little homebred colt goes out there and hangs with them.

“If you walked up to him, you would think he’s a 12-year-old gelding. He just does everything right, everything you ask him to do. He can get a little demanding — he reminds you if you don’t feed him quick enough, or don’t give him a treat quick enough — but he’s earned it. He doesn’t owe us a thing. We owe him.”

John is working with a 10-horse stable now, with Donald still offering a helping hand as he approaches age 82.

“I was doing the barn work and he was doing most of the jogging until this past year,” John said. “He just can’t move like he wants. It’s a little tough getting in and out of the jog cart. But he still shows up every once in a while to jog. He’ll get out there. He’s like a kid in a candy store when he sits behind one of the horses.”

And while the ownership of Hezzz A Wise Sky started as a partnership of father and son, it expanded in 2019 to include John’s wife, his mother Joann, his brother-in-law David L. Miller, and his sister-in-law Toni Presto. They race as Triple ZZZ Stable and also own all three of Hezzz A Wise Sky’s siblings as well as dam Gimmeazzzmooch, whose name inspired the group’s moniker.

“The horse has just brought everybody closer,” John said. “We always had good relationships with each other, but now there is a common theme with what’s going on with the horses. What was my father’s and mother’s dream and passion for all those years has now become a big thing for the whole family.

“All because my father had a better idea.”

The Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association is sponsoring free Hawthorne programs for the winter meet, available on harnessillinois.com.

(USTA)