by Mike Paradise, publicity director, Maywood Park

Melrose Park, IL — Parklane Powerful and Cinder Best, two mares who have put up some gaudy numbers over the past few years, will tangle for the first time this season at Maywood Park in Thursday night’s $15,500 Open Pace for fillies and mares handicapped by groups.

The six-year-old Parklane Powerful and the eight-year-old Cinder Best have combined for 84 victories and $1,479,590 in career earnings between them. In the last two and a half seasons Parklane Powerful has 27 wins ($515,958) and Cinder Best has 23 victories ($327,627).

The co-favorites, Cinder Best (9-5, Mike Oosting) and Parklane Powerful (3-2, Ron Marsh) drew for the two outside posts in the handicap pace with the former getting the five slot and the latter the six.

The first four posts in the Pacific Flight N feature — named after the former world champion who campaigned for the Joe Anderson Stable in the mid-1990s — belong to Little Mischevious (Dave Magee, 12-1), Nasti Nicky (Dean Magee, 8-1), Ashley Mack (Tony Morgan, 6-1) and Taylor Wailer (Jason Dillander, 9-2), in that order.

This will be only the third time in 2005 the co-favorites’ paths have crossed. Parklane Powerful finished second and Cinder Best was eighth in an April 21 Open at Balmoral Park. On June 28 Cinder Best got the best of her rival, finishing second in another Open at the south suburban facility, while Parkland Powerful was a quarter of a length behind her in third.

Trainer Homer Hochstetler sent Parklane Powerful to The Meadowlands for the New Jersey track’s Cape & Cutter and Overbid series earlier in the year. The Sportsmaster mare won her opening $35,000 series leg in the February Cape & Cutter series for Fighting Major Stable of Hoffman Estates, Illinois and is well on her way to another six-figure season with $73,881 banked thus far.

Cinder Best looks like she’s back in sharp form. She comes off a narrow 1:52.3 loss at Indiana Downs where she sped home in :26.3 in an Open. She’s been first or second in five of her last six starts for Napoleon, Ohio owners Thomas Gerdeman and Elaine Lauf. Among her 14 victories last season for the Seldon Ledford Stable were a quartet of Open Pace triumphs at Maywood Park.