For Immediate Release
Contact: Jim Miller (708) 780-3700
JimMiller@ClubHawthorne.com
An Upset in The Pizza
Man – Stakes Sprinters Take to the Track
STICKNEY, IL – Despite a rainy week at Hawthorne that saw
Friday’s races taken off the turf as well as a portion of the Saturday races,
The Pizza Man Stakes remained on the turf course and produced a thriller. The $75,000 race for Illinois-bred turf runners
was contested at 1 1/16 miles over a course listed as yielding as all seven entrants
stayed in to run.
Following the Illini Princess Stakes
the week prior, which was won by Chris Block trained Trail Ridge Road, Block was
looking for back to back weekends of stakes wins at Hawthorne as Another
Mystery was sent off as the 3-5 favorite in The Pizza Man. A tightly bunched field raced through the
opening turn as Readthecliffnotes was pushed through
a quick opening quarter of :23.59 by Power Through and Temper Tantrum. Richiesgotgame sat
just off the early pace while Another Mystery settled at the rear of the field,
only four lengths off the lead. After backing
down the pace a bit to pass the half in :48.09 and three quarters in 1:12.22,
the field stacked up to challenge Readthecliffnotes
at the top of stretch. Mid-stretch, Readthecliffnotes was all out to hold on as Temper Tantrum
and Power Through kept things tight upfront. Just behind the leaders, both
Jareth Loveberry and Richiesgotgame,
along with Orlando Mojica aboard Another Mystery, desperately looked for racing
room. Late in the lane a small hole opened as Loveberry
pushed Richiesgotgame through. Mojica waited and
angled Another Mystery out late but Richiesgotgame got the jump and held off Another Mystery to
win by a head. Another Mystery was a neck in front of a game Readthecliffnotes. The final time for the 1 1/16 miles was
1:42.63.
Owned by Patricia’s Hope LLC and Richard Ravin and trained
by Larry Rivelli, Richiesgotgame
returned $10.00, $3.20 and $2.60. Another Mystery came
back $2.10 and $2.10 while Readthecliffnotes returned
$5.20 to show. The win in The Pizza Man
Stakes was the second stakes victory for Richiesgotgame
and seventh lifetime win from 19 starts. He earned $45,000 for the win,
boosting his lifetime earnings to $292,144.
This Saturday, Illinois-bred female sprinters take to the main
track in the 6 ˝ furlong Powerless Stakes.
A field of seven has been entered as Chris Block once again sends out
the likely favorite. Owned and bred by
Richard Perkins, Oeuvre is the 8-5 morning line choice in the Powerless. A winner of six of 12 lifetime starts, Oeuvre
has never been worse than second in seven starts at Hawthorne. Breaking her maiden over the track by 12
lengths as a two-year-old, Oeuvre was second to Purr Sea in a pair of juvenile
stakes at Hawthorne to close out 2021.
Away from the track for six months, Ouevre
returned in May to easily defeat state-bred allowance runners on May 15 and did
so again on June 11. Oeuvre showed her versatility
in June 24, moving to the turf and taking an open turf sprint to close out the
spring Hawthorne season. Following a win
at Colonial, Ouevre battled to a solid third-place
finish in the $500,000 Music City at Kentucky Downs on September 13. She comes into the Powerless off another strong
open allowance win at Hawthorne on October 2.
The top threat to Oeuvre in the Powerless is Purr Sea from
the barn of trainer Michele Boyce. After
breaking her maiden at first asking last summer, Purr Sea ran a game third in
the Arlington Washington Lassie last August.
She got the best of Oeuvre twice last fall at Hawthorne, defeating her
in the Showtime Deb and the Pat Whitworth Illinois Debutante. Much like Oeuvre, Purr Sea took six months
away from the races before returning at Horseshoe Indianapolis in May. Grabbing a victory and pair of runner-up
efforts in five starts in Indiana, Purr Sea comes into the Powerless off a
strong victory against open allowance runners at Hawthorne on October 8.
The field for the Powerless Stakes:
PP Horse Jockey Trainer M/L
1 Go Madi Go V.
Santiago L. Plasters 20-1
2 Purr Sea E.
Esquivel M. Boyce 5-2
3 Dancin at Midnight E.T.
Baird S. Manley 9-2
4 Oeuvre J. Loveberry C.
Block 8-5
5 White Lies A. Quinonez P. Miller 6-1
6 Iggy Bigs O. Mojica A. Hernandez 20-1
7 Stopshoppingamy J.
Tavares A. Hernandez 10-1
Hawthorne Race Course, Chicago’s
Hometown Track, races year-round in 2022. The winter harness season concluded
on Sunday, March 20. Spring thoroughbreds kicked off Saturday, April 2 and
concluded Saturday, June 25. The summer harness season began on Thursday, June
30 and raced through Sunday, September 11. Fall thoroughbreds returned on
Friday, September 23 and race through Saturday, December 31. For any
information about Hawthorne Race Course visit our website
www.HawthorneRaceCourse.com.
Print View
