Springfield, IL – You could understand why owner and trainer Dennis Gardner was pumping his fists upward after Friday’s (July 14) feature event at Springfield, IL. His 3-year-old ICF trotter Goomster not only avenged his only loss of the season, but he also made the Illinois-bred program proud by beating some very good open company trotters.

Dennis Gardner’s champion ICF trotter Goomster shows his heels to his foes in Friday’s Springfield feature. Patricia Fryman Photography.

Perfectly rated by Travis Seekman, the Cassis gelding was sent right to the front, and cut fractions of :27.4 and :56.4 before rattling off consecutive :28 flat panels to a 1:52.4 winning mile, a new lifetime mark for his elated West Salem, IL owner.

A week ago, the front-stepping Goomster was overtaken in the late going by the Illinois 2-year-old champion filly Marvelous Mystery. However on this Friday afternoon, the star of the Dennis Gardner’s stable wasn’t going to be denied his 11th victory in 19 career starts and his sixth in seven tries this year.

Bluebird Deacon (Cordarius Stewart), an Open trot winner last month at Oak Grove, came on to be second best, beaten by 2-1/2 lengths. Reign And Shine won the battle for third over Marvelous Mystery.

Looking Good: Several state bred 2-year-olds were prominent winners on Friday’s card as they prepare for next month’s Illinois State Fair ICF championships at the Springfield and Du Quoin Fairgrounds.

The Amy Husted stable’s Chickabell (Kyle Husted) motored to a 1:54.3 clocking when she nosed out Fox Valley Tasha (Cordarius Stewart) in their third race matchup and the 2-year-old ICF filly pacer did it coming from the seven post in an eight-horse field. She’s now two-for-two for her career.

Fox Valley Taran, nicely handled by Matt Avenatti, stayed perfect in her initial pair of freshman starts for trainer Rob Rittof, easily prevailing in 1:55.3 in race six.

The Herman Wheeler Stable’s You Can Never Tell (Casey Leonard) let it be known he means business in the ICF juvenile colt and gelding division with a 1:55.2 triumph in his third career start, avenging the gelding’s first two second-place finishes this season to Guitar Man, who was third best this time behind the runner-up Erico Pallazzo.

Chickabell, Fox Valley Taran, and You Can Never Tell all are progenies of the 2022 Illinois Stallion of the Year Somestarsomewhere who stands at Walker’s Standardbreds of Sherman, IL.

In the Illinois second-season trotting category, Zora Moon (Jamaica Patton), winner of three of her first four career starts, had another strong effort but couldn’t hold off the first-time starter Whiskey Lou, driven by her conditioner Curt Grummel, who also trains the third-place finisher Calypso Moon, in the 1:59.3 mile.

Calypso Moon is the 2-year-old full sister to last year’s ICF Harness Horse of the Year Funky Wiggle, who won her qualifier at Hoosier Park on Thursday (July 13) in 1:59 by almost five lengths.

After five second-place finishers in as many seasons starts, Dennis Gardner’s 3-year-old trotter Tankmetodennyland got his initial triumph in 2023 the hard way in race 12. Despite being parked out on both turns, Goomster’s stablemate pulled away to win in 1:56.4, taking more than three seconds off his previous best time.

Getting Interesting: Casey Leonard had a four-bagger on Thursday and four more successful drives on Friday (July 14) to move into second place with 23 wins at the Hawthorne Downstate meet, just four behind the leader Cordarius Stewart.

Travis Seekman is in third place with 19 after bringing home five winners on the Thursday program and adding two more Friday.