Hawthorne Racecourse (12/8/11)
Contact: Jim Miller
(708) 780-3700
Four carryovers at Hawthorne
Taking a look at the standings with three weeks to go in the fall meeting and Florent Geroux is still holding on to the lead for leading rider. Geroux has kept the other riders at an arms length the entire meet. When a rider has made a move, Geroux has come back and consistency has been the key for the young Frenchman. Currently, the challenge to Geroux comes from hot riding bug boy Constantino Roman. Roman has been riding very well and has shown to have a great clock in his head for pace, along with making all of the right moves. Entering today, Geroux leads Roman 52 wins – 46 wins. The sleeper story of the meet has been the riding of jockey Julio Felix. The talented rider has quietly climbed through the standings, currently sitting third with 40 winners.
On the training end of things, Roger Brueggemann may be only a few victories from securing a Hawthorne title as he enters the Thursday card with 31 wins on the meet. Trainer Chris Block continues to have a great meet and he holds second with 19 wins, while Joel Berndt is making a late season bid for the runner-up spot as he has moved to third with 17 wins on the meet.
Midwest Thoroughbreds has likely secured the owner title with 20 wins, as William Stiritz sits in second with 9 wins this season. We still only have a pair of horses that have won three times on the meet as Campo Joti and Courtly look to make it 4 within the next week.
On Wednesday, the track continued to play evenly as the best horses, with the best trips were winning races. With some big prices coming in, it has led to a four-carryover day at Hawthorne on Thursday. The High 5 is at $1,382, The Place Pick 9 stands at $1,789, The Pick 6 has grown to $4,079 while the Pick 5 has risen to $10,279.
On Wednesday, both Constantino Roman and Julio Felix had riding doubles while Brian Williamson also won a pair. In the 8th race on the Wednesday card, the Felix-ridden Hinkson Creek pulled the upset, giving trainer Steve Manley career win #996 on his career.
Only two scratches on the Thursday card, main track is fast:
Changes
Main Track – Fast
Race 5
Scratch #1a – Dixie’s Back
Race 9
Scratch #1a – Johar Irish
