You would be hard pressed to find more impressive back-to-back victories than those posted by the 5-year-old pacing mare Jill’s Sooter in her last two trips to the post for owner/trainer Robley Johnson and driver Rick Plano.
 
Jill’s Sooter romped home by two lengths over her $4,000 claiming rivals to finish up the month of May, then came right back last week to crush the field by a half-dozen while shaving a full second off her career standard with the 1:54 flat clocking.
 
“I’ve had her for two months now, but I’ve had my eye on her for a couple of years,” Johnson related.  “She’s obviously got a great pedigree, being by Matt’s Scooter out of a BG’s Bunny mare, and she’s shown flashes of brilliance on occasion.”
 
On the other side of the coin, Johnson explained that Jill’s Sooter also has a down side.
 
“She can be pretty nervous and ties up, and she’s also capable of making some pretty drastic breaks every once in a while.”
 
There have no such troubles in the last two appearances for this mare.  On both occasions she’s been able to sit for a quarter, brushes to command on the backside and then leaves her rivals gasping in the stretch.
 
Robley makes a point to praise Plano’s expertise in the sulky in relation to the last two romping scores by his protégé.
 
“Rick had driven her last summer, which I remembered, and he deserves a lot of credit for these last two races.  He gets her to relax early, which is very important, and then he gets the maximum effort from her.”
 
Johnson is recovering from some serious injuries suffered in a spill here last season that have kept him from seeing evening action in the sulky.
 
“The doctors wanted me to have surgery, but I decided to take the natural way and I don’t want to drive again until I’m 100 percent,” he noted.  “With a guy like Rick out there, I’m in no rush.”