Tuesday, July 29, 2008 11:11 PM CDT
'Lucky' Finn wins with exciting finish
By BRIAN NIELSEN, Sports Editor
bnielsen@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON -- Trying to learn the harness horse racing business from veteran Randall Finn, 18-year-old Tanner Spittler was nearly even with his mentor heading down the stretch.
The two horses from Finn’s Hidalgo farm were among those going four wide after the final turn of the Topline 3-year-old & up mare pace when Spittler got the lesson that sometimes there is little or nothing the driver can do.
“I got lucky,” Finn said. “The race just turned into where it was more luck than anything.”
With Finn on the bike Gladys Light pulled out the exciting win in 1 minute, 58 3/5 seconds edging out the Windsor-owned Tinkers Damn driven by Michael Knicley while the Kansas High School graduate Spittler wound up third driving Finn’s Jenkate.
The Illinois Stallion Stakes races with a 5:30 p.m. post time and big purses set for today may have a hard time in matching Tuesday’s five-race card when it comes to exciting finishes.
In addition to the crowd-thrilling mare pace race won by Gladys Light, Tuesday’s program ended with a photo finish.
Judges eventually determined that Knock Me Down, a gelding owned by the local Phillips Standardbreds, won the Paul Phillips Memorial 3-year-old colt trot.
This was the second straight year that a horse trained by Jerald Viviani won a memorial race named after his father-in-law, the late Paul Phillips who was an Illinois Harness Racing Hall of Famer whose wife, Sue, now continues to own a stable of standardbreds near Charleston.
“It’s exciting to win Paul’s blanket and fun to win at home,” Viviani said.
Still, this was just a tune-up race for Knock Me Down, who now takes the lifetime best time of 2:01 2/5 and second win in seven starts this year into Saturday’s $50,000 Night of Champions race at Hawthorne.
Stephen Halford II drove Knock Me Down and then had to wait for the decision after the close beside Uneek Fireball, owned and driven by Hall of Famer Lavern Hostetler.
“Lavern said he thought (Knock Me Down) had it,” Viviani said. “My wife said she thought he didn’t.”
No photo review was needed earlier to determine that Hostetler of Frankfort had won the Topline 3-year-old and up colt pace although the time of 1:58 1/5 fell short of the 1:55 3/5 time that still stands as the Coles County fair’s all-age track record.
Another local winner was Mattoon’s Jack and Bonnie James as Jack drove their Forever Friends to the Bud Rhodes and Mary Ellen Rhodes Memorial Illini 3-year-old filly trot victory in 2:07 1/5.
“It’s about time,” said Jack James, a veteran harness horseman who had to think back to recall his last win in 2006. “In a horse race you never know but she comes home pretty good.”
Sidelined much of last year with a fractured bone in her leg, Forever Friends came from behind to edge Lunesta, driven by Charleston’s Craig Banks.
Banks, who won last year’s drivers award at the Coles County Fair, also got a win driving his KB’s Charge to a come-from-behind win and a lifetime best 2:11 1/5 in the Illini 2-year-old trot.
Contact Brian Nielsen at bnielsen@jg-tc.com or 238-6856.
ILLINI 2-YEAR-OLD TROT
Time 2:11 1/5
1. JB’sS Charge (owner-Craig Banks, Josh Craig Banks, Cannon Falls, Minn.; trainer/driver-Craig Banks); 2. Earli Morning Star (o-Robert Lacey, Nokomis; t/d-C. Alan Finn); 3. American Partner (o-Donna and Jerald Viviani, Charleston; t-Jerald Viviani; d-Stephan Halford II); 5. Get Jiggy With it (o-Phillips Standardbreds, Charleston; t/d-Jerald Viviani); 6. Riley’sDreamer (o-Lilly Racing Stable, Inc., Downers Grove; t-Craig Banks; d-Arnie Ralston)
TOPLINE 3-YEAR-OLD & UP MARE PACE
Time 1:58 3/5
1. Gladys Light (o/d/t-Randall Finn, Hidalgo); 2. Tinkers Damn (o-Randall Denham, Windsor; t/d-Michael Knicley); 3. Jenkate (o/t-Randall Finn, Hidalgo; d-Tanner Spittler); 4. Darlene (o-Johnny Rice, Starkville, Miss.; t-Johnny Raice; d-Terry Skinner); 5. Dynamic Dream (o-Michael and Jordan Michael and Adam Knicley, Newton; t/d-Randall Finn); 6. Thunderstorm (o-Samuel and Shirley Glossup, Ardmore, Tenn.; t-Samuel Glossup; t-Darla Martin); 7. Sickwithit (o-Glordia Gillis, Mansfield, La.; t/d-Michael Whitaker)
TOPLINE 3-YEAR-OLD & UP COLT PACE
Time 1:58 1/5
1.Armbro Barnes (o-Little Springwood Farm, Frankfort; t/l-Lavern Hostetler); 2. Storm’s Image (o-Emily Olson, Fintville, Tenn.,; t-Samuel Glossup; d-Darla Martin); 3. Memphis T. Lewis (o-Dorothy Lewis, Keithvill, La.; t/d-Randall Finn); 4. Larry’s Pace (o-Combs Investments, Newman; t/d-Clark Fairley); 5. Jed Laag (o-David Decker, Thomson, Ga.; t-Randall Finn; d-Michael Whitaker)
ILLINI 3-YEAR-OLD FILLY TROT
Time 2:07.1
1. Forever Friends (o-Jack and Bonnie James, Mattoon; t/d-Jack James); 2. Lunesta (o-Placco Family Farms, Alexis; t/d-Craig Banks); 3. Vicki Rova (o/t/d-Owen Julius, Beecher); 4. Feathers Legend (o-Paul and Charlotte Trenkle, Farmer City; t/d-Ray Hanna); 5. Banshee (o/t/d-John Lee Knifley, Ashmore)
ILLINI 3-YEAR-OLD COLT TROT
Time 2:01 2/5
1. Knock Me Down (o-Phillips Standarbreds, Charleston; t-Jerald Viviani; d-Stephan Halford II); 2. Unkeek Firebacll (o-Lavern Hostetler, Frankford, and Anthony Lombard, Joliet; t/d-Lavern Hostetler); 3. Terrific Triumph (o-Craig Banks, Charleston, and Josh Craig Banks, Cannon Falls, Minn.; t/d-Craig Banks); 4. Claimtobealegend (o-Gloria Gillis, Mansfield, La./ t/d-Michael Whitaker); 5. EBM Chip’s Mark (o/t/d-Frank Bell Jr., Starkville, Miss.
TODAY’S CARD
Post time 5:30 p.m.
TOPLINE 3-YEAR-OLD & UP TROT
Crossword (owner-James Mason, Athens Ala.; trainer-Samuel Glossup; driver-Darla Martin)
Thanksalot (o/t/d-Randal Finn, Hidalgo)
Showmeyourmuscles (o-Phillips Standardbreds; t-Jerald Viviani; d-Stephan Halford II)
Winsome Wyoming (o/t/d-Leo Burns)
Illinois Victory (o/t/d-John Knifley)
The Majestic (o-H.W. Wright; t-Erv Miller; d-Marcus Miller)
Celebrity Yank (o-Lynn Harris; t-Chris Wade; d-unknown)
ILLINOIS STALLION STAKE 2-YEAR OLD FILLY TROT (First Division)
Princessfancyfeet (o-J. Ferge; t/d-Jamaica Patton)
Queen Creek (o-Delbert/Ruth Burkett; t/d-Delbert Burkett)
My Last Valley (o-George Knackmuhs; t/d-Dennis Gardner)
Fox Valley Strata (o-Sawgrass Farms, LLC; t/d-Hart Walker)
Mrs. Stafford (o-Donna Viviani; t-Jerald Viviani; d-Stephan Halford II)
ILLINOIS STALLION STAKE 2-YEAR-OLD FILLY TROT (Second Division)
Tora Gram (o-Carol Graham; t/d-Thomas Graham)
Lil Miss Angel (o-Deloris/Ronald Phillips, John Carver; t/d-Jamaica Patton)
Poetry Affair (o-Jerry Graham; t-Pamela Coleman; d-unknown)
Tropical Trixie (o-Cary/Kimberly Doehring; t-Robert Holdeman; d-David Martin)
Lane’s Game (o-Mary Lea Jeffers; t/d-J.D. Finn)
ILLINOIS STALLION STAKE 2-YEAR-OLD COLT TROT
Fox Valley Dewey (o/t/d-Jerry Mims)
My Psychic Says (o-John Carver; t/d-Jamaica Patton)
Worldclasssouljaboy (o-World Class Racing, LLC; t/d-Marcus Turner)
Boogie On (o-Leo Edwards; t/d-Ronnie Gillespie)
Smashing Colin (o-Jerry Graham; t-Pamela Coleman; d-unknown)
Piddles (o-Phillips Standardbreds; t-Jerald Viviani; d-Stephan Halford II)
Fox Valley Gabriel (o/t/d-Wayne Brown)
Toucan (o/t/d-Douglas Graham)
ILLINOIS STALLION STAKES 2-YEAR-OLD FILLY PACE
Cane’s Z Tam (o-Z Tam Racing, LLC; t/d-Richard Schrock)
Like Red on Arose (o/t-Erv Miller; d-Marcus Miller)
Guan Yin (o-Omer Miller; t-Erv Miller; d-Marcus Miller)
Toni Mack (o-Richard Johnson; t/d-Tom Simmons)
Pargenta (o-Ronald Phillips; t/d-Freddie Patton Jr.)
Windy City Brandie (o-Windy City Farm; t/d-Shawn Nessa)
Cuzurinittowinit (o/t-Jerald Viviani; d-Stephan Halford II)
ILLINOIS STALLION STAKE 2-YEAR-OLD COLT PACE (First Division)
Jimmycrackedcorn (o-James McCaslin; t/d-Tom Simmons)
Henry Gram (o-Shelly Graham; t/d-Thomas Graham)
Last Conquest (o-Tanah Merah Farms, LLC; t-Erv Miller; d-Marcus Miller)
Hot Shot (o-Sawgrass Farms, LLC; t/d-Hart Walker)
Big Sexy One (o-Sue Phillips; t-Jerald Viviani; d-Stephan Halford II)
ILLINOIS STALLION STAKE 2-YEAR-OLD COLT PACE (Second Division)
Mr. Dock Johnson (o-Dock Johnson Jr.; t-Michael Rogers; d-unknown)
My Boy Luke (o-Glen Bauman; t/d-Tom Simmons)
Mr. Rightnow (o-Bryan Brown; t-Marcus Turner; d-Jamaica Patton)
Smellthecolornine (o-Shim Racing, LLC; t-Erv Miller; d-Marcus Miller)
Quick Thought (o-Willie Scott; t/d-Freddie Patton Jr.)
AMATEUR DRIVING RACE
Beachy’s Destiny (o-Shelley Finn; t-Mitch Finn; d-Freddie Finn)
Most Happy Rider (o-Enio Barrera; t-Larry Coleman; d-Kyler Husted)
Princess Abigail (o-Gene/Dakota Birch; t-Darry Birch; d-Gene Birch)
Ata Ata (o-o/t-Marcus Turner; d-Paul Cavett)
Gypsy Kick (o-Darry/Rose Birch; t-Darry Birch; d-Dakota Birch)
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