The first weekend of the Hawthorne meet, last fall’s leading trainer Scott Becker picked right up where he left off: winning with five of his ten starters, and sprinting to a clear lead in the trainer standings.

This weekend’s Chicago Railbird takes a look at a pair of races in which he has runners.  One is a state-bred maiden special weight in which he sends out a pair of contenders.  One of his is the most likely winner, though there is one other runner who looks like she could wire it.  The other is a state-bred N1X.  Becker sends out Small Fortune, who broke his maiden in good-looking fashion last year — but Small Fortune is marooned on the outside, and there is an intriguing long shot cutting back to the dash distance he loves so much.

Head on over to ShapperDaCapper, read the latest Chicago Railbird, and get ready for a contentious Saturday of racing at Hawthorne!