by Mitch Demick, for Hawthorne Racecourse

Stickney, IL — Two 3-year-olds, three 4-year-olds and a single 5-year-old comprised the body of the field in the $10,000 second leg of the Cub Pacing Series. In order to qualify for the race, entrants must have earned less than $30,000 during their careers or have avoided the winner’s circle more than five times. Horses conceived and foaled in the state of Illinois were eligible if they had not won six races lifetime. The series is for colts and geldings only.

A surprisingly short field of six started and when they crossed the wire in 1:53.4, it was Don Ray’s Deadly Attack who proved victorious, leading the field from gate to window, and in doing so, swept both legs of series preliminaries.

Ryan Anderson was at the controls for the second straight week, and because of the success the duo had last time, Anderson felt confident he had a horse who could repeat.

“He was very good last week, and I thought if I could stay up close early, I didn’t think they could beat me,” said Anderson.

Deadly Attack wasn’t just close early, he dictated the fractions. With little pressure on the front end, it became a matter of who could sprint home fastest and “Deadly” had enough left to hold off a closing Skippers Top Dog, pacing the final quarter in :26.1 to complete the victory. Kings Road made a bold move on the turn and flattened out late to complete the trifecta.

A jubilant Anderson thinks his horse will take some beating next week and isn’t bashful about sharing his opinion regarding the Cub Series final.

“I think this horse will win the final, I really do.”

The winner paid $5.00 as the 3-2 post time favorite.

The $25,000 Cub Pacing Series final will be held Saturday, July 7. The top ten earners from legs one and two will determine the entrants.

The scorching Brent Holland continued his winning ways in the co-featured Invitational Handicap when he guided Robert Silberg’s Manhardt to a three-quarter length triumph, pacing the mile in a swift 1:51.1.

Switching strategies from last week’s Invitational, when Manhardt cut excruciating fractions only to falter late, Holland approached Manhardt’s trainer Jim Eaton before the race and suggested a tactical change.

“Brent came to me and said I’m gonna duck him this week and we’ll see how he races from off the pace. I said it’s okay with me because there was plenty of speed without us,” said Eaton.

The fractions turned out to be fast and furious. Shark Time proved fastest early, but it took :26.3 to the quarter to get the lead. Pressure from Prince Vince kept the pace hot as the half went in :55.3. Meanwhile, Holland had Manhardt following a decent flow on the outside and when they turned for home Holland tipped off cover and wore down the veteran Go Warrior Go in the last few strides. Jo Pa’s Bench Mark took the inside route to be a clear third.

Holland explained his strategy.

“When I looked at the program tonight, I saw ten horses and anytime you have that many horses in a good field like we had tonight somebody’s gonna want the front pretty aggressively. I figured let me try and hold my position early, see what unfolds. If they mixed it up early I knew I’d be close late and gratefully it panned out.”

Manhardt returned $33.80 to win and pushed his lifetime earnings to over $150,000.