Coming off a runner-up finish here in early August, HIKE was able to get a clean break this time and led from the start to win this six-furlong Maiden Special Weight by 3 1/2 lengths on the all-weather surface at Arlington Park. After stretching the lead to 4 1/2 lengths by the top of the stretch, the 3-year-old filly by STROLL was never threatened the rest of the way for an impressive win. A Janis R. Whitman homebred, HIKE is out of the Distorted Humor mare Izarra, who was runner-up, beaten a nose, in the G1 Oak Leaf S., and is a half-sister to Breeders’ Cup Classic-G1 winner Fort Larned. HIKE’s third dam is the incomparable Hall of Famer Bayakoa (Arg).
