It was a
gloomy morning in Chicago as the rain began to come down. Seeing that the curiosity was mounting on whether or not the Hawthorne Derby would be taken off the turf and
moved to the dirt, the race course caught a much needed break. Despite a few scattered showers
that came down before the 5th the heavy rain held off until
the horses made it to the starting gate. That was when the challenge of
navigating through the showers became an unexpected certainty.
Leading the
field across the wire was a brilliantly played upset by Two Months Rent. His
connections decided the Hawthorne Derby was worth the trip and in his first
race in Illinois paid off handsomely - $43.20 to win. The turf was soft and the rain was
pouring but Two Months Rent sat back off the pace before gaining ground and
making a big move in the final stretch.
The loaded
field of twelve broke cleanly from the gate as Finale set the pace, followed by
All Stormy through an opening quarter of 23.83 and 47.81 at the half.
Taking into account the turf course was listed as soft these were quick
fractions out front and could set up perfectly for any connections planning on
making a late run. Rounding the final turn and into the stretch Film Shot was
one of those horses when he assumed the lead along the rail and attempted to draw away
from the field. But Two Months Rent and Jockey Jesus Castanon were locked in
and their gutsy pursuit down the lane was game enough. His win by a head was
done in 1:52.58 over the 1 1/8 Mile distance.
The post
time favorite Lea finished 3rd respectively after breaking towards
the very back of the pack. The second choice, All Squared Away was gassed as
he fell to the back and finished last. Considering the conditions that were in
play there are many horses in this field that will likely put this race behind them and bounce back next
time out.
By Purim - Sharp
Tradition and trained by James Toner, Two Months Rent ran a perfect a race on a
not so perfect day. The patience to sit back and handle the soft race course
with such comfort only goes to show that some just like racing wet.
Side notes: The Hawthorne Derby was the only race on the card that raced on the turf. The only other Turf race was taken off and switched to the dirt. The maximum field size for the Hawthorne Derby was 12 which ruled out the two Also Eligible's. One of those two was The Pizza Man, the highly respected IL Bred who won the Tex's Zing Handicap his last time out at Arlington Park.