by Mike Paradise, publicity director, Maywood Park

Melrose Park, IL — As expected, the nation’s fastest 2-year-old, Home Bed Advantage, easily won his Cardinal elimination and established himself as the favorite for the $70,000 Final on October 13 at Maywood Park. However the first Cardinal elimination for ICF freshman pacers didn’t go as anticipated.

Perfect Tattler was the upset winner of the first Cardinal elimination.

The first elim not only saw a surprise winner when Perfect Tattler rallied at 9-1 odds, but it also produced an astonishing effort by the third place finisher Glass Pack, who was sent off at overwhelming 2-5 odds with entrymate Place Of Destiny.

Glass Pack (Dave Magee), the country’s fourth fastest first season pacer (1:50.4 at Springfield), broke badly right before the start, and fell about ten lengths behind the field going to the first turn. The Tom Simmons trainee gobbled up ground, caught up to the field and was first to pull at the quarter pole (:27 flat), but was still some 14 lengths behind the pacesetter Booze Cruzin (Tim Tetrick).

Booze Cruzin got a :29 second quarter breather with Glass Pack now racing second up behind the first-over Brother Vinny, but still almost eight lengths behind the leader. When Brother Vinny dropped into the pocket at the 1:25 three-quarter marker, Glass Pack raced outside the leader through the last turn.

Meanwhile, Dean Magee followed up Glass Pack with Perfect Tattler and when they turned for home his Homer Hochstetler trained pacer whisked past for a winning 1:54 flat mile. Booze Cruzin held on for second, beaten 1-1/4 lengths, and Glass Pack dug in for third, three lengths behind the winner, despite being parked out for three-quarters of the mile and being about 20 or so lengths behind the leader at the eighth pole. Also gaining next week’s $70,000 (est.) final on Illinois Fall Championship Night was the fourth place finisher Brother Vinny.

“I didn’t know a whole lot about Perfect Tattler except that the trainer (Homer Hochstetler) told me he can get a little bit hot at times,” said winning driver Dean Magee. “This horse was a little fired up behind the gate but he settled down pretty quickly. I figured if I was parked the mile I wouldn’t be in the top four. Once the gate opened, however, I was really pleasantly surprised as this horse drove with two fingers. They were going pretty quick fractions up front and I thought that the move was to pull second over at the half. Everything worked out well and the horse really dug in well in the lane.”

Home Bed Advantage stayed unbeaten in his first season with a 1:53.2 victory in the second Cardinal elimination.

Unlike the first Cardinal elimination, the second went as predicted. The country’s fastest freshman (1:50.1), Home Bed Advantage, was much the best with a 1:53.2 front-end victory for regular driver Ryan Anderson, making the son of Cole Muffler a perfect 6-for-6 in his first season.

The heavy 2-5 favorite swept to the front after a :27.4 first quarter by the early leader Richess King. Anderson had a good hold of the Dave McCaffrey-trained star youngster through middle quarter times of :56.2 and 1:25.3 and when asked for something extra in mid-stretch, Home Bed Advantage responded, pulling away by 1-1/4 lengths over runner-up One Park Place (Todd Warren). Richess King settled for third while the final Cardinal Pace Championship starting berth went to the fourth place finisher El Hombre.

Home Bed Advantage’s 1:53.2 clocking is the fastest on a half-mile track this season for a 2-year-old pacing gelding. He’ll bring a first season bankroll of $161,575 into the October 13 Final for McCaffrey, who shares ownership of the youngster with MJGB Racing Stables of Nanuet, New York.

“I really thought that I needed to be up front with him tonight and I really never had to ask him very hard to make the top,” said Home Bed Advantage’s driver Ryan Anderson. “He was parked to the quarter and then just said ‘bye bye’ to the rest of the field. The horse was pretty much on cruise control for the rest of the mile.”

Third Day sets track mark in Maywood Pace elim

Third Day became the fastest 3-year-old pacing gelding in Maywood Park’s 60-year history when he held off his stablemate Thisbigdogwilfight with a 1:51.3 mile in the $10,000 Maywood Pace stake elimination.

Maywood Park photos

Third Day became the fastest 3-year-old pacing gelding in Maywood Park’s history with his 1:51.3 clocking in Friday’s Maywood Pace elimination.

Third Day led from start to finish for Tim Tetrick, his fifth winner in his first seven drives on the Friday card. Tetrick ended up with seven on the evening.

Third Day dug in during the late going and held off a final charge by his first-over entrymate Thisbigdogwilfight to gain a one length decision. Both horses are trained by Jim Eaton. Another Cole Muffler offspring, Third Day is owned by Redbud Stable, Phil Rock, John Johnston and Duke Johnston, all of Illinois.

The Jim Eaton pair will take on My Boy David and Fox Valley Appeal, who drew byes into the $100,000 (est.) Maywood Pace Final based on season’s earnings. Also gaining the state bred showdown were the third to sixth place elimination finishers — Houndin The Ladies, Josh’s Z Tam, Cape Karuna and Wonderful One.

Third Day cut fractions of :26.4, :55.1 and 1:23 flat before coming home in :28.3 for season’s victory number five in 26 starts.

“I put this horse’s top mark on him last year and he’s proven that he can race on a half-mile track,” said Third Day’s driver, Tim Tetrick. “He just kept digging and digging in throughout the mile. He’s better on the front end as sometimes he can get pretty grabby sitting in the hole. He’s very sharp right now and I wasn’t too concerned about beating his stablemate; my main concern was to win the race and get into the final.”