July 5 - Even though 2009 champion female sprinter Informed Decision won Sunday's $100,000 Chicago Handicap (Gr 3) over Polytrack for the second year running, her respective races could not have been more different.

Where Informed Decision romped home first easily in last year's Chicago Handicap, winning by five lengths, in Sunday's featured outing, the talented 5-year-old mare had to work harder than ever before to ensure a victory.

So it was probably a good thing that Informed Decision's trainer, Jonathan Sheppard, had secured the services of champion jockey, Julien Leparoux, in the seven furlong sprint that attracted a field of eight, but started with seven.

From the start Leparoux held Informed Decision back, allowing 33/1 shot Rinterval set the pace, but at the midstretch he let her go and she grabbed the lead. However, that was when the race really started for the speedy mare.

Instead of pulling away and leaving the rest of the field in her dust as she did last year, Informed Decision had to contend with a challenge from Rinterval, who under Julio Felix refused to let her hard work early on go to waste.

And as the two mares came hurtling down the stretch towards the line, fans at Arlington Park bellowed as Rinterval closed the gap with every stride in the final moments, but Informed Decision dug deep, holding on for victory.

Rinterval finished second ahead of Secret Kin in third. This year's Chicago Handicap was an exciting race from start to finish and left many racing fans wondering what would have happened if Rinterval had not run out of track.

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2011/12/09 12:47:21 AM