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Contact: Tom Kelley
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Pardon Looking For Big Payday in 2YO Filly Pace

Pardon

Richard Balog's freshman pacing filly Pardon will get the chance to grab national recognition on Saturday night (November 13) as she tries to turn an $8,000 supplement fee into a big harness racing payday when she takes on eight other distaffers in the $95,000 American National Stake for two-year-old pacing fillies.

After completely dominating Illinois bred company to the tune of 13 victories in 14 attempts the daughter of Richess Hanover has definitely earned the chance to see how she can do with some of the top "open" company fillies in North America according to trainer Dirk Simpson.

"When we decided to supplement her to the race we thought the final would go for a little bit more than what it's going for," said Simpson. "But this filly has done everything right from day one, she's been sound all year long and Mr. Balog and I both think it's time to see how she does with this type of competition."

This will be the final start of the year for Pardon whose only loss came to Fox Valley Touche in the Orange & Blue Final on Super Night when she fell three-quarters of a length short. Pardon came right back from that defeat though knock¬ing off her main state-bred rival in the Violet, Sarah Myers and an ISOBA stake in the weeks following her lone defeat.

One of the top contenders for Illinois Horse of the Year with her sparkling record and bankroll of $183,308 coming into Saturday's American National Pardon has also earned a great deal of praise from her Hall of Fame driver Dave Magee throughout her 2010 campaign.

"This filly makes my job look pretty easy out there," said Magee. "She'll do anything you ask of her, race any way you want her to and she always finishes up a mile with plenty left in the tank. There have been a lot of races this year where the winning margin could have been much larger if I would have chased after her but I've tried to keep her fresh and keep her aware of the other horses so that she keeps her mind on her business all the way through the wire."