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Illinois Champions Day is Wide Open!

Six $100,000 stakes events restricted to Prairie State performers will be presented at Hawthorne on Saturday’s Illinois Champions Day program. The stakes will be run consecutively (races four through nine), on what promises to be a challenging, and potentially very rewarding, ten-race betting card.

Peach of It Handicap

A field of eight older female routers is set to leave the starting gate in the Peach of It Handicap. Hawthorne’s morning-line maker Jim Miller has installed Asiel Stable’s Meadow Bride as the lukewarm 7-2 choice. The Richard Hazleton-trained 4-year-old defeated her elders in the Illini Princess Handicap as a sophomore here last fall, and swings back off a second place run behind Sunset Kisses in an open allowance at Hawthorne on April 2.

Patrick Walsh’s Toll Taker, the second choice in the program at 4-1, has campaigned outside of her home state for all but one of her 18 career starts. The Peach of It highweight at 122 pounds, this stakes winning 4-year-old has competed in several graded events throughout the course of her young career for trainer Tim Hills. In her only previous appearance at Hawthorne, during the fall of her 2-year-old season, Toll Taker stumbled out of the gate and lost her jockey as the overwhelming favorite in the Showtime Deb Stakes. Toll Taker returns to Chicago off an even seventh place effort in the seven furlong, Grade II Shirley Jones Handicap at Gulfstream Park.

4th race $100,000 Peach Of It Hcp.
1 1/16 miles 3 yos & up, f & m

Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Odds
1	Sara's Tune	Meier	King	8-1
2	Meadow Bride	Silva	Hazelton	7-2
3	Capistrano	Torres	Williamson	9-2
4	Proven Cat	Mena	Cristel	5-1
5	Princess Paster	Laviolette	Essenpreis	10-1
6	Toll Taker	Maragh	Hills	4-1
7	Modjadji	Emigh	Janks	6-1
8	Li'lbito'sunshine	Campbell	Poulos	12-1

Milwaukee Avenue Handicap

A field of eight older male routers is entered to compete in the Milwaukee Avenue Handicap, and Miller’s slight choice is Nancy A. Vanier’s Air Academy at 7-2. A turf horse most of his career, the 5-year-old Brian Williamson-trainee has really flourished on the dirt this meet, posting consecutive open company allowance wins, the most recent of which earned him a 100 Beyer Speed Figure on March 25.

William Pacella, Joseph Rizza and Ronald Schwed’s multiple stakes winning Wiggins, the highweight in the field at 123 pounds, is the 4-1 second choice in the program. The 6-year-old overwhelmed his Illinois competition over similar conditions in the High Alexander Handicap here last fall for trainer Dale Romans, defeating fellow Milwaukee Avenue contender High Expectations by nearly five lengths. The winner of 12 of his 29 lifetime starts, Wiggins has banked $628,742. He was last seen finishing third in a $250,000 claimer at Gulfstream on April 14.

5th race $100,000 Milwaukee Avenue Hcp.
1 1/16 miles 3 yos & up

Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Odds
1	He's Hammered	Meier	Hinsley	6-1
2	Storm Coming	Ocampo	Schwan	8-1
3	Bold Caller	Torres	Salvino	10-1
4	Air Academy	Sterling Jr	Williamson	7-2
5	Big Glori	Thornton	McCoy	8-1
6	Wantedtobeagray	Mena	Cristel	5-1
7	High Expectations	Campbell	Janks	5-1
8	Wiggins	Emigh	Romans	4-1

Lady Hallie Stakes

A wide-open field of 13 sophomore fillies is slated to leave the starting gate for the Lady Hallie Stakes, and eight of them have won at least one race at this meet. Miller’s ever so slight program choice is Oxbow Racing’s Rich Fantasy at 4-1. She scored a game win in the Showtime Deb Stakes at Hawthorne on Nov. 12 for trainer Ronnie Werner, and just missed posting an open company stakes tally in her follow-up start in the Dixie Belle at Oaklawn. In her most recent run in Arkansas on Feb. 24, Rich Fantasy checked in an even fifth in the Martha Washington Stakes.

The Brian Williamson-trained entry of Nancy Vanier and Lyda Williamson’s Albata and Nancy Vanier and Cartwright Thoroughbred’s Lampoon are next in the odds pecking order at 9-2. The former cuts back off a trio of route races at the meet, two of which produced romping allowance scores. The latter swings back off an even seventh place performance in the open Meafara Stakes here on Illinois Derby Day (April 8). One start earlier, Lampoon smoked a field of first-level, Illinois allowance foes.

6th race $100,000 Lady Hallie Stakes
6 furlongs 3 yos, fillies

Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Odds
1	Albata	Torres	Williamson	9-2
1a	Lampoon	Emigh	Williamson	9-2
2	Rolling Sea	Mena	Hazelton	6-1
3	Xcellent Lisa	Molina	Gulick	12-1
4	Unreal Rocket	Compton	Houghton	8-1
5	Rich Fantasy	Razo Jr	Werner	4-1
6	Precious Zeal	Meier	Kirby	15-1
7	Taylor Madison	Perez	Dini	10-1
8	Acceptable Jill	Sterling Jr	Wiggins	8-1
9	Ripe Tomato	Laviolette	Pierce	15-1
10	Greta Susanna	Marquez Jr	Shenofsky	8-1
11	Lovely Love	Silva	Hazelton	15-1
12	Cause She's Crafty	Campbell	Block	15-1

Land of Lincoln Stakes

A dozen sophomore colts and geldings, eight of which have posted at least one win at the meet, have been entered for the Land of Lincoln. Once again a lukewarm morning-line favorite has been tabbed in Centerfire 3’s Rochester Cat at 4-1, a sharp winner of the ITBOF Sales Stakes as the overwhelming 1-9 favorite for trainer Andy Hansen on April 9 at Hawthorne.

Scott E. Ricker and Richard S. Kaster’s Silver Titan, the runner-up the Sun Power Stakes at Hawthorne last November for conditioner Ronnie Werner, is the second choice at 5-1. He finished second in a second-level optional claiming allowance at Oaklawn on March 17 in his only appearance of the year.

7th race $100,000 Land of Lincoln Stakes
6 furlongs 3yos

Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Odds
1	Class N Charm	Mena	Hazelton	10-1
1a	Heaven's Hope	Silva	Hazelton	10-1
2	Barely Union Scale	Perez	Swearingen	8-1
3	Cart's Maybeoughta	Sukie	Cristel	6-1
4	Ww Kooky Monster	Campbell	Shenofsky	8-1
5	Michalson	Meier	Davis	15-1
6	Rochester Cat	Torres	Hansen	4-1
7	Tally Up	Emigh	Williamson	6-1
8	Wicked Facts	Thornton	Kirby	15-1
9	Silver Titan	Razo Jr	Werner	5-1
10	Bold Standard	Laviolette	Fridley	15-1
11	Distorted Groom	Sterling Jr	Rainwater	20-1

Governor’s Lady Handicap

A field of ten older female sprinters is slated to leave the starting gate in the Governor’s Lady Handicap, and another 4-1 shot, Robert Bockel and Dwight Espenschied’s Denoun N Deverb, the gate to wire victress in the Powerless Handicap at Hawthorne in her final start of 2005 for trainer Leroy Hellman, has emerged as the slight 4-1 program choice. She is unraced this year.

Bob and Nancy Bartels’ Bluesbdancing, the highweight at 120 pounds, is the second choice at 9-2. A two-time Illinois-bred stakes winner for trainer Terrell Gore, she swings back off an impressive conditioned allowance win over open foes here on March 18.

Last year’s Governor’s Lady Handicap winner, Jim Edgar’s Fighting Fever, is an early 20-1 shot for trainer Tom Dorris in this year’s edition, and the 2005 Illinois-bred 3-year-old filly champ, Arbaway Farm and Carson Springs Farm’s Pretty Jenny, the winner of the Lady Hallies Stakes on Illinois Champions Day last year for Christine Janks, is 5-1.

8th race $100,000 Governor’s Lady Hcp.
6 furlongs 4 yos & up, f & m

Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Odds
1	Piano Tunner	Torres	Robertson	8-1
2	Come Shine	Rojas	Brueggemann	10-1
3	Denoun N Deverb	Sterling Jr	Hellman	4-1
4	Fighting Fever	Campbell	Dorris	20-1
5	Dutchie	Perez	Boyce	6-1
6	Miss Classified	Thornton	Kirby	10-1
7	Lady Riss	Robletto	Hellman	6-1
8	Pretty Jenny	Emigh	Janks	5-1
9	Bluesbdancing	Razo Jr	Gore	9-2
10	Auburn Forever	Laviolette	Ackerman	12-1

Chicagoland Handicap

The Chicagoland Handicap’s 123-pound highweight, Ben Dover Stable’s defending race champ Take Achance On Me, has been pegged as the 7-2 morning-line choice to defend his title. Based in Maryland with Michael Trombetta, the trainer who captured the Illinois Derby earlier in the meet with Sweetnorthernsaint, the 8-year-old gelded son of American Chance has won eight of 45 career starts en route to banking $472,561. He recently returned from a nine-month layoff to finish second in a high-level optional claiming allowance dash at Laurel Park.

The second choice is Eugene Young’s multiple Illinois-bred stakes winner Silver Bid. Trained by Joel Berndt, the ageless 8-year-old gelding will eclipse $700,000 in career earnings with a top five finish on Saturday. In his only start of the meet, Silver Bid finished a gutsy second behind the classy Fifteen Rounds in an open allowance dash on March 10.

9th race $100,000 Chicagoland Hcp.
6 furlongs 4 yos & up

Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Odds
1	Out for a Spin	Torres	Mitchell	8-1
2	Silver Bid	Compton	Berndt	4-1
3	Take Achance On Me	Emigh	Trombetta	7-2
4	Knowwhatimean	Sterling Jr	Nance	6-1
5	Shandy	Silva	Hazelton	6-1
6	Johnathan	Campbell	Johns	8-1
7	Stormy o' Bryan	Laviolette	Essenpreis	8-1
8	Just See James	Meier	Turner	12-1
9	Iron Rogue	Razo Jr	Tomillo	5-1

Hawthorne’s spring 2006 Thoroughbred meet runs February 24 through May 4 with live racing five days per week: Friday through Tuesday. Post time is 1:10 p.m. Saturday through Tuesday and 3 p.m. on Friday. Hawthorne is dark Wednesdays and Thursdays and Easter Sunday April 16, but full card simulcasting from racetracks across the country is offered every day.

Hawthorne’s summer 2006 Standardbred meet runs May 6 through June 17 with live racing six days per week: Tuesday through Sunday. Post time is 7:20 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. Opening day, Saturday, May 6, post time will be at 6:30 p.m.

Hawthorne’s fall 2006 Thoroughbred meet runs September 15 through December 31 with live racing five days per week: Wednesday through Sunday. Post time is 1:10 p.m.

For more information visit www.hawthorneracecourse.com.

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