After an impressive victory in 1:49.4 in last week’s $245,000 American National at Balmoral Park, Creative Racing Stable, Jerry Silva and Ray Schnittker’s One More Laugh will look for a sweep of Chicago’s main events when he takes on seven rivals in the signature event of the night, the $200,000 Windy City Pace. The main event on Friday’s program has been carded as Race 7.
Installed as the 6-5 morning line favourite despite having drawn Post 7 in the Windy City, driver Tim Tetrick is cautious yet confident as he looks to guide the two-time World Record holder to his ninth win of the season.
“Sure I much rather would have drawn the inside but that’s racing,” laughed Tetrick. “This horse is just as good on a half-mile track as he is on the bigger tracks. A couple of biggest wins like the Art Rooney at Yonkers and the Cane Pace at Freehold have come on half-mile tracks.”
In last week’s American National victory, Tetrick allowed the early leaders to settle into position then brushed One More Laugh to the front as the field moved towards the half-mile mark. The issue was never in doubt from there as the bay gelding paced home in :27.2 despite facing a 20 mph headwind in the stretch as he stopped the clock in a blistering 1:49.4 on a very chilly night.
“I wanted it to be his race to win or lose and you had to be up close which is why I sent him so early,” Tetrick said after the victory. “I just hollered at him once in the lane, his ears went up and away he went. He was still pacing full blast all the way through the wire despite the fact that I had a pretty good hold on him for the final sixteenth.”
Sporting a record of eight victories, five seconds and one third in 18 starts this season, One More Laugh eclipsed the $2 million mark in career earnings with his American National triumph. A fact that was not lost on his driver, who has also wrapped up his fourth straight earnings title among the North American driving colony.
“He’s one of the toughest horses I’ve ever sat behind,” said Tetrick. "He can race in any fashion that you want him to. A ton of credit has to go to Ray for still having this horse as sharp as he was last week. He’s danced all the big dances with the top three-year-olds in the country this year and yet he’s still got a mile like he paced last week in him. That should tell you all you need to know about him.”
(Maywood)