A quintet of local stakes stars could end Chicago’s major turf season with a bang in the $100,000 Robert F. Carey Memorial Handicap Saturday at Hawthorne Race Course.
Rare Reason is the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the field of 10. He’ll make his first Windy City start of the year Saturday, but last year’s Hawthorne Budweiser Breeders’ Cup winner knows the course.
Illinois-bred Manilaman captured the imagination of Chicago racing fans with his upset victory in the Grade II Arlington Handicap Aug. 6. Polar Expedition, the race high weight at 121 pounds, is 9-1.
Recoup the Cash, at 8-1, likely is doing a rain dance for the Carey, having won seven of nine starts on an off track.
With any kind of pace, Illinois-bred Homing Pigeon may be ready to step out of the Illinois ranks for his biggest career victory. He won the My Trip and W.H. Bishop on the turf this summer at Arlington.