by Tom Kelley, publicity director, Balmoral Park

Crete, IL — The state-bred stakes action continued on Wednesday night (May 6) at Balmoral Park as a total of 16 3-year-old filly pacers met in two $12,430 divisions of an Illinois Standardbred Owners & Breeders Association Stake.

In the opener Robert McCormick’s Aristocracy used her potent closing kick to sweep by her rivals in the late going en route to a 1-1/2 length victory in a career best of 1:54.1.

Balmoral Park photo

Aristocracy and driver Marcus Miller blew right by their rivals to win the first of two $12,430 ISOBA Stake divisions.

Reserved in the early going by driver Marcus Miller, the daughter of Art’s Conquest-Theocracy was content to bide her time as Honey B Skipalong (Tyler Buter) and Stohli Dohli (Josh Sutton) battled through splits of :28, :56.2 and 1:25.4.

Sitting in a second over position while racing in fifth as the field turned for home Miller then tipped his filly off her cover and she quickly began to pick off horses as the field raced through the lane. Moving effortlessly on the far outside the Erv Miller trained miss uncorked a :27.4 final quarter as she blew by the field to record her fourth win of the season. Towne Nurse (Dean Magee), who was shuffled back through the middle portion of the race, shook loose in time to rally for second while Stohli Dohli held on for third.

Unraced at two Aristocracy now boasts a record of 4-1-3 in 10 career starts with earnings of $15,858. The 4-5 favorite of the betting public returned $3.80, $2.80 and $2.40.

The heavy betting favorite also prevailed in the second division as Kay Willis and Richard Beere’s Native Hotspur remained undefeated in 2009 with a 2-1/4 length front stepping score in a lifetime best of 1:53.

Handled like she was much the best among this field driver Josh Sutton fired the daughter of Ft Apache Hanover-Broadway Charisma away from post position seven and she was pacing comfortably in front as she hit the opening station in :27.4. Continuing to cruise along on the front end the Nelson Willis trained miss proceeded to rattle off middle splits of :56.3 and 1:24.4 while holding a first over Guan Yin (Brandon Simpson) at bay.

Through the stretch Native Hotspur was still fit and fresh as she put away the first over bid from Guan Yin and a belated effort from the pocket sitting China Gal (Dave Magee). Pacing home in :28.1 while under very minimal urging from her pilot Native Hotspur was on cruise control as she made it three for three as a sophomore. Guan Yin held on well to finish second while Honey’s Luck (Mike Oosting) rallied for the show dough.

After a nice 2-year-old season in which she put together a record of 4-4-2 in 15 starts while earning over $58,000, her perfect start to the 2009 campaign has pushed her career bankroll up to $81,942. The odds on choice in the wagering returned $3.20, $2.20 and $2.20.