Hawthorne Race Course

Contact: Jim Miller
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Redding Colliery Holds on for Hawthorne Gold Cup Triumph

STICKNEY, IL – Mrs. Fitriani Hay’s Redding Colliery continued his solid four-year-old campaign, grabbing his second graded stakes victory of his career in the 74th running of the Grade II $250,000 Hawthorne Gold Cup.

Ridden by Rosie Napravnik and trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, Redding Colliery broke sharply from the inside and inherited the early lead from Shadowbdancing as that one was rank through the opening furlong. Rattling off quick early fractions of :23 1/5, :47, and 1:10 4/5 into the far turn, Redding Colliery had opened up ten lengths on the field. Turning into the stretch, Redding Colliery dug in gamely to hold off the late charges of Giant Oak and A.U. Miner, holding on for a three-quarter of a length win. Giant Oak closed well to finish second while A.U. Miner was third.

The 7-5 post time favorite, Redding Colliery returned $5.00, $2.60, and $2.10. Giant Oak returned $3.40 and $2.60 while A.U. Miner came back $4.20 to show.

Rosie Napravnik went into the race with one thought in mind, and got the job done, “All I heard about Hawthorne was that it was speed favoring. They said that the stretch was so long, if you could put some distance between you and the other horses you were better off. I knew I was on a quality horse and he took me all the way. He runs his race every time. It doesn’t matter where. I don’t know where they are sending him next but I did hear the name Breeders’ Cup and if he’s going there I would love to be on him.”

Trainer Chris Block had another near miss with Giant Oak as he, along with Redding Colliery surpassed $600,000 in career earnings, “He ran hard. He just came up a jump short. The other horse just got away. When I saw a :47 half I thought we had a great chance. He just held on but we ran another very good race.”

Eddie Perez on Giant Oak, “It went pretty good. We tried really hard. We just couldn’t get past. My horse was running well late. He never stopped. But the other horse didn’t either.”

Frankie Pennington got a good effort from A.U. Miner, “It went good. I was just sitting off of it. In the stretch we came running. He tried really hard.”

Hawthorne Race Course is in its 101st year of racing under Carey family ownership. Hawthorne offers the only traditional dirt track for thoroughbred racing in Northern Illinois. Live racing at Hawthorne runs Wednesday – Saturday through December 31. Post time daily is 1:35 PM with late post on Fridays of 2:35 PM through November 19. Club Hawthorne membership is Free and available at Guest Services at Hawthorne Race Course. For more information, visit www.Hawthorneracecourse.com.