Wednesday, July 30, 2008 11:11 PM CDT
Piddles doesn't piddle around in money race
By BRIAN NIELSEN, Sports Editor
bnielsen@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON -- Along with following a family tradition, Piddles made a 9-year-old boys’ nickname look good.
Before this 2-year-old gelding and offspring of 1995 Illinois 2-year-old Trotter of the Year Sea Wind Yankee was named Piddles, that was the affectionate title given to Vincent, the son of Charleston trainer Jerald and Donna Viviani.
That name was done proud Wednesday, when Piddles, the horse not the boy, won the $13,825 Illinois Stallion Stakes 2-year-old colt trot for one of the biggest paydays in Coles County Fair harness racing.
On a twilight racing night in which Eastern Illinois University student Marcus Miller drove a pair of victories, the local Paul Phillips barn could also celebrate. Piddles captured the Illinois Stallion Stakes previously won by his father Sea Wind Yankee when that race was at Martinsville.
The program listed Piddles’ owner as Phillips Standardbreds, but Sue Phillips made the clarification that her daughter and son-in-law now own the colt driven to victory by Stephan Halford II in 2 minutes, 7 1/5 seconds, a day after Halford drove the Phillips Standarbred’s Knock Me Down to a win at the Phillips’ home track.
“We just haven’t gotten all the paper work done but (her daughter and son-in-law) own him,” Sue Phillips said. “I raised him. They own him.”
Someone got the good paycheck on this Illinois Stallion Stakes night serving as a highlight of the week of harness horse racing at Coles County.
“It’s a good paycheck and it brings good horses here,” Jerald Viviani said. “The same horses that are going to Springfield and Balmoral are here.”
Rain through much of Wednesday may have prevented better times or even record miles but horseman as well as announcer Brent Titus praised the workers for the condition of the track under the circumstances.
“Really, it wasn’t that bad,” Miller said. “A lot of tracks can’t take any rain but it was OK. The track had to be good for the horse to go that fast.”
Miller was speaking specifically of Smellthecolornine, whom he drove to a lifetime best 2:00 2/5 to win the second division of the Illinois Stallion Stakes 2-year-old colt pace.
This was the third win in four starts for the 2-year-old owned and trained by Miller’s father Ervin Miller, the Arthur native who now has a stable at Springfield.
Smellthecolornine made it back-to-back wins for the Miller stable after Marcus drove Last Conquest to a 2:02 2/5 victory in the first division of the 2-year-old colt pace, making it four wins in seven races for that colt.
“They are both really nice horses,” Miller said. “I would have liked to have done better in my first two races but these last two are good horses.”
Miller got to have a photo in the winner’s circle taken for a third time when he and another young harness driver Tannor Spittler of Kansas shared in the amateur driving race won by Kyle Husted with Florida-owned 3-year-old Most Happy Rider.
“The three of us drove together last year in the amateur races,” Miller said. “When we started we didn’t even know each other and now we’re the best of friends.”
Cane’s Z Tam stayed undefeated in four starts as Richard Schrock, a former employee at the Paul Phillips farm, drove the 2:00 3/5 victory in the 2-year-old filly pace.
One of the evening’s most exciting finishes came when David Marin, parked outside much of the race, had a strong finish to win the 2-year-old filly trot in 2:05 1/5.
Darla Martin drove Crossword to a comeback win in the Topline 3-year-old and up trot and Jamaica Patton had Princessfancyfeet ahead most of the way to win the first division of the 2-year-old filly trot.
Contact Brian Nielsen at bnielsen@jg-tc.com or 238-68656
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