Fancy winner in ISOBA

Sportsfancy won the $27,000 ISOBA Super Sales Stakes for 2-year-old filly pacers at Balmoral Park Tuesday night. With Colette finishing second, the "chalk” players in the crowd were rewarded as both are owned by Joy and Bonnie Hutchinson.

Taking advantage of post position two driver Ryan Anderson gunned Sportsfancy away from the gate and she was comfortably in front as she moved through a quick opening split of :27.3. With pressure coming on the backside from a hard charging Bailey’s Place, Anderson elected to let the longshot take over the point. That advantage was short lived however as Anderson quickly popped from the pocket, pulling to within a head of the leader, as the two rolled by the half-mile station in :55.4.

Blowing right by her rival as the field moved around the far turn Sportsfancy enjoyed a 1 1/2-length advantage as she reached the three-quarter-mile mark in 1:25.1. Through the lane the Homer Hochstetler-trained miss was well within herself as she paced away from her foes. Cruising through the lane with the greatest of ease the daughter of Sportsmaster reported home with a very easy 1 1/4-length verdict in a career best of 1:53.4.

Stablemate Colette (Dean Magee) rallied from seventh at the top of the lane to get the place check while Looking At You (Sam Widger) finished third almost six lengths behind the winner.

Sportsfancy has been a late season sensation putting together four straight wins over the past month. For the year this filly sports a record of 6-1-0 in 14 starts, banking over $84,000 for the HBH Standardbreds of Warrenville, Ill.

With only a field of five 2-year-old trotting fillies entered, this $16,000 tussle was contested as a non-wagering event prior to the regular 11-race program. This one went as expected with Ernest Smith and Terri Micou-Smith’s AJ’s Little One cruising to an easy 2 3/4-length victory in 2:01.4.

Sent right to the top by driver Jamaica Patton, this daughter of Wilson Wyoming strolled through opening splits of :30.3 and 1:01.3. Trotting uncontested around the final turn Patton was able to “steal” another soft quarter guiding AJ’s Little One by the three-quarter-mile station in 1:33.

With plenty still left in reserve the Freddie Patton Jr.-trained miss set sail for home breezing through the lane in :28.4 while easily keeping her rivals at bay. Lady Marmalade (Mike Oosting) sat on the winner’s back the entire mile but was forced to settle for the bridesmaid role while Winsome Wonder (Dave Magee) was third.

With the victory AJ’s Little One now boasts a record of 10 wins, four seconds and one third in 23 starts with earnings of $30,509. (From Balmoral)

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