Illinois bred sprinters will take center stage Saturday at Hawthorne Park. The Pretty Jenny, for 3-year old fillies, looks to be the more wide-open affair while the Land of Lincoln, for the 3-year old boys, features the return of two Illinois bred giants: former Kentucky Derby hopeful Dom the Bomb and Recount, winner of the Grade 3 Arlington Washington Futurity.
Recount will make his 3-year old debut in the $50,000 Land of Lincoln. A winner of two of three at two for trainer James Devito, Recount has been training like a monster, firing off four consecutive five-furlong bullet works at Tampa Bay Downs and Hawthorne.
Dom the Bomb is returning from a two month layoff after stepping on himself – grabbing a quarter – at the start of the Grade 3 Hutcheson Stakes at Gulfstream in January. He also has been training ferociously, shooting three bullets of his own in his last four works.
Both speedsters like to run on or near the lead, along with several others, which theoretically could lead to a stalker like Wildwood Nafir sneaking in late, though the top two appear to be a notch above the rest of the field.
In the $50,000 Pretty Jenny, Timeaday, dominant at 2, makes her local debut as the slight morning line favorite over Totaled. Timeaday began her season at Oaklawn Park where she’s had a bit of a tough time getting rolling, overmatched in the Dixie Belle as well as a $67,000 allowance. She comes back home for the Pretty Jenny as well as slipping back into state bred company. Manny Esquivel should be able to engineer a perfect stalking trip behind the speedy Totaled.
Totaled is coming in off a single impressive maiden win in which she darted to the lead and never looked back. While it’s always a challenge to step in with winners, her Brisnet speed figures shows she belongs and any improvement at all today could put her in the winners’ circle.
Hollarforadollar has had two strong outings leading into the Pretty Jenny with a gate to wire maiden win and a second in a $75,000 optional claiming race where she dueled long and hard for the lead before giving way in the lane. Her speed, and that of Lady Kelia, could set up a perfect scenario for Timeaday.
