Alpine Hawk returns to the wars in Thursday night’s (December 8) featured sixth race at Cal Expo after posting a romping five and a half-length score in a qualifier last week for pilot Rich Wojcio.
A 10-year-old son of Movie Mogul who races for Jim Winske and hails from the Gordie Graham barn, Alpine Hawk has landed in the charmed enclosure following 37 of his 170 starts, with another 31 seconds and 19 thirds. His bankroll stands at $153,000 and he established his mark of 1:56.4 two years ago when racing on the East Coast.
Alpine Hawk hasn’t seen action since finishing third behind the current trotting kingpins Franks Best and Putoneonnetformom in a Winners-over affair in late September.
“He had trouble staying sound all summer,” Wojcio related. “He qualified well, though, and hopefully he’ll be good now. We’ll just have to see after each race.”
Speaking of summer turning into fall and fall about to become winter, Rich was asked about a tip to handicappers now that the warm climes are behind us and sitting chilly takes on a different meaning in the races.
“I think the wind is the biggest factor to consider,” he said. “It affects the way we drive and normally after a few races you can see which way things are going as far as speed and closers are concerned.
“If the winds are strong down the backstretch, you’re likely to see much less movement, if any, so the fractions are generally going to be much slower. That definitely gives the advantage to the horses who are sitting in the top three and they have an edge in the sprint home.”
