Hinsdale, IL — It’ll be a rare start Friday (June 14) at Du Quoin for Illinois champion Fox Valley Gemini. Nevertheless the three-time Illinois Horse of the Year did make the long trip from his Harvard, Ill., base in northern Illinois to the far southern portion of the Prairie State to compete on Friday’s 15-race program.

It’s only the third time the star of the Terry Leonard Stable will compete on the one mile Du Quoin clay oval.

Fox Valley Gemini is at Du Quoin Friday for a rare appearance on the southern Illinois mile oval. Patricia Fryman Photography.

The popular 9-year-old Fox Valley Gemini was second to He’zzz A Wise Sky late last August in his latest start in Du Quoin when they tangled in the Illinois Aged Male Pacing championship. The John Filomeno trained pacer went wire-to-wire that day at the picturesque southern Illinois facility in 1:49.4, finishing one length ahead of Fox Valley Gemini, the winner of six consecutive Super Night championships along with Illinois Harness Horse of the Year laurels in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

With the sudden, and unexpected, switch from this week’s races from Springfield to Du Quoin because of construction going at the Illinois Fairgrounds, there was a concern that Fox Valley Gemini might be scratched from his first start since Jan. 21 because of the length of time in a van it would take to get to Du Quoin.

However, his longtime regular driver and assistant trainer Casey Leonard confirmed on Wednesday that the winner of 61 career races and almost $750,000 lifetime for his owner Jim Ballinger would indeed make the long 385 mile trip with Casey, over a six-hour journey.

Fox Valley Gemini drew favorably for his Du Quoin start, landing the two post in an eight-horse field. Fox Valley Cayman (Travis Seekman), going postward after four months off, has the pole position. From the three slot to the eight you’ll find Fox Valley Treason (Steve Halford II), Legal Liar (Jordan Patton), Fox Valley Jasper (Wyatt Avenatti), Skyway Goliath (Kelcey Perymond), Copper Teen (Cordarius Stewart) and Western Vinny (Richard S. Finn).

Live video of Friday’s Du Quoin races will be available on www.trotandpacemarketing.com/livestream.

On Thursday, Gorgeous Big Guy, the 2023 Illinois 2-year-old colt pace champion, made it 3-for-3 in his second season and again won with authority for driver Cordarious Stewart.

The Erv Miller trainee settled in fourth in the early going before Stewart took him first over and to the front with the dangerous Guitar Man on his back after a slow :59.1 first half by the early pacesetter Fox Valley Kodiak (Kyle Husted).

Guitar Man had dead-aim on the defending champ, but a :27 last panel put the Rob Rittof trained gelding away and extended Gorgeous Big Guy’s victory streak to nine and kept him unbeaten against follow Illinois breds in his career. The winning margin in the 1:54 mile was 1-1/2 lengths.

Nevertheless, there were a couple of major surprises on the card in the state-bred trotting divisions when both Jewels For Champ (Stewart) and Stand By Your Man (Mike Brink) couldn’t stay flat and finished up the track.

Lous Mandalorian (Juan Franco) took the first male trotting division in 1:58.2 for trainer Roshun Trigg and Lous Private Eye (Leonard) coasted to a 1:59.2 triumph in the second. Honoloulou (Travis Seekman) captured the initial filly split. Those two winners are trained by Steve Searle.

Whiskey Lou (Leonard) breezed by four lengths in the second filly division in 1:58.2 for trainer Curt Grummel. She’s now won back-to-back races as a 3-year-old.