by Mike Paradise, publicity director, Maywood Park
Melrose Park, IL — A Free For All Handicap heads up the final racing program of the year on the Chicago circuit when a full field of eight pacers tangle in Friday night’s $20,750 tenth race feature at Maywood Park.
Assigned the outside eight post by Maywood Park Racing Secretary Doc Narotsky was Robert Ranquist’s New Zealand import Johnny Be Cool N, who comes off a very impressive 1:52.4 victory in our December 17 Free For All for his Palos Park, Illinois owner and veteran trainer Harry Von Knoblauch.
The five-year-old Illinois-bred pacer Papa Peck was assigned the favorable one slot, while six other Free For All starters drew posts handicapped by groups (two-three) and (four through seven).
Two more “Down Under” horses, Rah N (10-1, Shawn Christner) and Roland John N (12-1, Sam Widger), have posts two and three respectively. From post four though seven its Northern Sun (3-1, Mike Oosting), Whispers Sky (4-1, Andy Miller), Tarver Hanover (6-1, Pat Berry) and Live Out Loud (8-1, Tony Morgan).
Johnny Be Cool N is gunning for his third consecutive Free For All triumph on the Windy City circuit. The six-year-old import posted a 1:51.1 clocking on December 3 at Balmoral Park. Two weeks ago he went from fifth to first in the blink of an eye when he powered past near the three-quarter pole enroute to a :27.1 last quarter while still under a hold at the end of his nearly four length victory.
“Johnny Be Cool N cleared easily and was hand-driven all the way to the wire,” said winning driver Tim Tetrick after the December 17 race. “This horse is just awesome. He easily fits into the Free For All ranks, and still fits non-winners of three races. He drives so nice and is just a super horse who will do whatever you ask him to do.”
“The horse is a freak,” added his 78-year-old trainer Harry Von Knoblauch. “Johnny Be Cool N fits our style of half-mile racing way better than he fit the style of racing in New Zealand. He is an outstanding athlete who just loves his job. He’s the best horse we’ve ever trained.”
Whispers Spy is making his first start since October 23 when he won a $32,000 Preferred event at Woodbine, the eighth season’s victory on six different racetracks for owners Topcat Racing Stable (New York) and Timothy Humerick (Ohio).
Whispers Spy earlier picked up triumphs at the Meadowlands, Freehold (Invitational), Balmoral (FFA), Hawthorne (his 1:50 mark), and Mohawk.
The five-year-old son of Armbro Operative finished second in a June 18 Maywood Park Free For All for Seldon Ledford, this meet’s leading trainer.
New state-bred distaff series begins
Robert Lems’ Nanny Withafanny, fresh off a recent sweep of the Incredible Finale Series Finals, is favored to keep her perfect record intact at Maywood Park in Friday night’s first leg of the Fox Valley Redhot Series for ICF fillies and mares.
The Fox Valley Redhot Series is for state-bred fillies or mares without four wins or $20,000 in lifetime earnings as of December 1, 2004.
The Dave McCaffrey trained three-year-old is perfect in four starts on the Chicago circuit’s half-miler, including the December 15 three-year-old series showdown and the overall championship a week later when she came up the open stretch to win in 2:00.1 on a bone chilly 10 degree night.
“Nanny Withafanny showed more versatility in her last win than she has in her previous starts,” said trainer Dave McCaffrey. “You always wonder about a horse if you have put them on the lead in all of their starts, how they’ll react racing out of a hole.”
Nanny Withafanny will open up as the luke-warm 7-2 first flash favorite with the meet’s leading driver Tim Tetrick. She drew the three slot in the large 10 horse seventh race series opener.
She’ll take on Mystical Missy (8-1), Western Shrimp (6-1), Carcano (4-1), Fox Valley Perdito (12-1), Miss Marie Lavoux (15-1), Apple Dumpling (9-2), Not Home Yet (20-1), Fox Valley Delicia (15-1) and Venturi Effect (5-1). The latter two fillies will start from the second tier with posts nine and 10, respectively.