Friday night at Hawthorne saw the return of reigning Illinois-bred Horse of the Year as Fox Valley Gemini took to the track in leg three of the Robert F. Carey Jr. Memorial.
The Carey is for Illinois-bred, three-year-old colt and gelding pacers as each division went for $15,000.
Race eight was the first division of the Carey and Fox Valley Gemini was sent away as the heavy 2-5 favourite with Casey Leonard in the bike. Backstreet Lawyer left for the lead between horses, but Youremyhearthrob moved up from the far outside to challenge through the quarter in :27.3. After a half in :55.1, Youremyhearthrob led the field into the far turn while Fox Valley Gemini settled in fourth. Through three-quarters in 1:24, Youremyhearthrob held a length advantage into the lane as both Backstreet Lawyer and Dandy Dude tipped out to challenge. Mid-stretch, Backstreet Lawyer grabbed a brief lead, but Leonard swung Fox Valley Gemini four-wide as he rallied to win by a length and a quarter in 1:52. Backstreet Lawyer finished second while Youremyhearthrob battled back to finish third. Fox Valley Gemini has now won sixteen straight races to open his career for owner Jim Ballinger and trainer Terry Leonard.
Race 10 was the second division of the Carey and a full field of 10 lined up behind the starting car, with Frontier Frank sent away as the even-money favourite. He cleared to the lead early and was chased by Als Briefs through the opening quarter in :27.4 and the half in :55.4. On the turn, Als Briefs and Travis Seekman moved quickly to take over through three-quarters in 1:24. Into the lane, Als Briefs opened up a three-length advantage as the field began to move behind him. All out to the wire, Als Briefs just held off the late move of Cool Casper and M T Gunslinger. The final time for the mile was 1:52.4. The stewards reviewed the actions of second-place finisher Cool Casper and disqualified him for interference in the stretch, placing him ninth. The disqualification moved M T Gunslinger to second and moved longshot Herecomesmagotta up to third. Als Briefs is owned by Anthony Somone, David McCaffrey, and trainer Clark Fairley.
(With files from Hawthorne Race Course)