by Mike Paradise, publicity director, Maywood Park
Melrose Park, IL — Former Maywood Filly Pace champion Lou Annie guns for her first season’s victory at Maywood Park in Wednesday night’s $11,500 ninth race feature, a conditioned event for fillies and mares one notch below the circuit’s Open Pace, the top distaff overnight event.
Trained and owned by James Rowney, Lou Annie will have to buck the outside seven slot when she meets six rivals in a race for fillies and mares without earnings of $11,500 in their last five starts. She’ll open as the 2-1 morning line favorite with catch driver Ryan Anderson.
Taking on the 2002 Maywood Filly Pace winner will be CJR Bogert (Pat Wolf), Miss Billie Le Ru (Tony Morgan), Ess Jay Bee N (Dave Magee), Kennan’s Mama (Del Chupp), River Mel (Mike Oosting), and Beencaughtstealin (Eric Ledford).
River Mel finished far back in her last start (May 26) in the Open Pace ranks, but the combination of the class drop and three weeks off could see the Jennifer Lappe-trainee be much more of a factor Wednesday night.
“River Mel was pretty sick in her last race and normally will keep up well with the other horses,” said her driver Mike Oosting. She’s a very nice mare with lots of class and is fun to drive. She’s too good for the conditions and just a notch below the top mares. There’s really no in between, so she’s in a tough spot right now.”
Lou Aannie, now five, earned $192,271 of her $313,159 career bankroll during her sophomore season. She finished second that year in our Cinderella Stake and also picked up purse checks in Balmoral Park’s American-National, Grandma Ann and Hanover, as well as the State Fair Final (Springfield), Time Dancer (Du Quoin) and Simpson (Hoosier).
“We plan to keep racing this mare as long as she stays sound, and then we’ll keep her at our home in Marseilles (IL) as a broodmare,” said Lou Annie’s trainer Jim Rowney. “She stays at our 50-acre farm, and gets a lot of paddock time. We’ve got a half-mile track there and most of our acreage is leased out to farmers who plant crops, while about ten acres is used for our purposes.
“She behaves very well on the farm at home and loves to be outside. It’s very different when she comes to the Chicago tracks. Then she gets keyed up and she knows what this is all about. Once I take her out to warm-up, it’s all over. She really gets fired up and after she races — especially when she wins — she’s even more fired up.”