by Harness Racing Communications, a division of the USTA

Don Glenny was introduced to harness racing, and eventually horse ownership, by his son-in-law, former Northfield Park paddock judge Bill Ruggiero. “Sometimes I like him for that, sometimes I don’t,” Glenny says with a laugh.

Glenny and Ruggiero are co-owners of three-year-old filly pacer Heavenly Beauty, who is expected to be among the starters in Saturday’s $135,000 Courageous Lady at Northfield Park in Ohio. Unraced at two, Heavenly Beauty has won 10 of 20 races and earned $52,984 this season. She is trained by Scott Cox, who picked her out for Glenny and Ruggiero for $11,000 as a yearling. By Blissfull Hall out of Beauteous, she is a half sister to multiple-stakes winner Escapable Beaux.

“We thought she had some potential last year, but she just wasn’t mature enough,” Glenny said. “It was getting late in the year and we decided to stop with her. We didn’t want to push it. We pretty much left it up to Scott; he’s been good and gives us proper information. He deserves the credit. She’s a pretty nice little filly.”

Heavenly Beauty won a Tompkins-Geers division at Scioto Downs on July 22. She has raced just once in the last month, a win in the open at Northfield on September 29, after consecutive eighth-place finishes at the Meadows.

“The last time she raced at the Meadows, she quit really bad,” Glenny said. “Scott had her scoped; she wasn’t bleeding, but she had a lot of mucous, so we backed off on her a little bit.”

Other fillies expected to enter the Courageous Lady include Caviart Sydney, CC Stacy, Rosa Villa and Van Anna. The draw will be held Wednesday.

Caviart Sydney, trained by Jim Arledge Jr., has won one of 12 races this year and earned $110,649. She is coming off third-place finishes in the Tattersalls and Bluegrass at Lexington’s Red Mile. In both cases, she finished behind My Little Dragon and Art’s Temptress. Last year, she won a Bluegrass division and was third in the Breeders Crown.

CC Stacy is coming off a win at Hazel Park in Detroit and has three victories in 19 races this year. In 2005, she won the American-National for two-year-old filly pacers. Rosa Villa, a multiple-stakes winner last season, won Friday at Northfield; she has six lifetime triumphs and $80,704 in earnings. Van Anna was the Ohio Sire Stakes champ as a two-year-old and has earned $179,980 in her career.

Heavenly Beauty is one of the best horses Glenny has owned during his 20 years in the sport. Others were trotter Another Good Guy and homebred pacer Magical Mickey, who swept the 2004 Capital City series at Scioto Downs.

“We know she’s not the top filly, but we feel good enough about her to put our money in and take our shot,” said Glenny, who lives in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and runs a steel rule die shop. “You don’t get too many shots when you’re little small-time owners, like us; we might only have one or two horses a year. It’s nice when you can get a decent one that allows you to break even or make a couple bucks. I’m 68 and I’m still working so I can have a horse. You’ve got to have some fun. This is an exciting time for us.”