Isolate, Kneedeepinsnow clash

A 10-horse feature with shippers from Kentucky and a starter with a 100 Beyer Speed Figure – not bad at all.

Hawthorne Race Course seems all but forgotten nationally by horseplayers this spring, but the Chicago-area track continues to put out a decent Saturday product, and with the $75,000 Work All Week as the headliner, this week is no exception.

The Work All Week, a 6 1/2-furlong dirt sprint, is carded as race 8, with post time 6:06 p.m. Central on a 10-race card that begins at 2:50. Kneedeepinsnow is the 5-2 morning-line favorite, but Isolate might have a better chance to win.

With Arlington shuttered this year, Hawthorne has taken over its usual Chicago summer racing dates and handle has stagnated. Purses, however, are decent for a mid-tier track, and one trainer who’s noticed is Tom Amoss. Amoss has shipped in eight Hawthorne starters from Kentucky, gotten a 3-2-1 record from them, and has Isolate for the Work All Week.

Four-year-old Isolate made his first five starts for Kathy Ritvo before joining the Amoss barn last September. Since the barn change, the Mark Valeski colt has made it rain – literally. Three of his four starts for Amoss have come on sloppy tracks, including his most recent, a high-level April 16 allowance race at Oaklawn Park. There, Isolate finished fourth, and while he didn’t run back to his top form from December and February wins, he ran well enough to suggest improvement is in the cards again Saturday. Isolate has positional pace and a favorable outside draw under Orlando Mojica, who’s having a strong Hawthorne meet.

Kneedeepinsnow is the 100 Beyer horse, having earned that number, a career best, in an April 29 win at Keeneland. Trainer Matt Shirer claimed Kneedeepinsnow for $80,000, and Kneedeepinsnow has posted a couple fast breezes in Kentucky for this start. Gabe Saez comes in to ride and will have to work out a trip from post 2.

Edgemont Road, Kadri, and Chipofftheoldblock also ship from Kentucky. Chipofftheoldblock gets the services of leading rider Jareth Loveberry, whose agent, Steve Leving, also books mounts for Mojica.

Mojo Man, trained by Chicago stalwart Jimmy DiVito, never has raced at Hawthorne but has been training there for several weeks and stands a chance of posting a minor upset.