When the going gets tough, the tough get going, and that applied to Alpine Hawk.
A half and half field of condition and claiming trotters, racing for a purse of $3,600, were featured at Cal Expo on Thursday night (December 15), on which Alpine Hawk won for the 39th time in his career.
Leaving on the float for pilot Rich Wojcio from post-four in the field of six, the pair didn't settle in until the field had all but traveled 3-16ths of a mile. Did Wojcio use his trotter?
"A little bit and I would have liked to have not used him at all, but he was okay," stated Wojcio.
With the field at the quarter-mile pole, timed in :29.4, things weren't as okay as they had just been as it appeared the ten year-old had a bit of a skip to his gait.
"He was struggling tonight, he was definitely not as sound as he was last week, and that concerned me very much."
On the move to the 5-16ths mile marker while in quest for the lead, Wojcio was in no hurry as he didn't clear to the point until well past the 7-16ths mile pole into a 1:00 first-half.
"It was windy against us, so I thought it was a pretty fair half and felt I had probably overused him at that point having already made two moves. I just had to hope for the best from there."
Showing his charge the whip from past the five-eighths on to keep him alert, the duo reached the three-quarter mile station, timed in 1:31.
"I knew it would be tight because he was pretty much tired and like I said he was struggling - - he was working hard tonight."
Drifting into the two-path at the head of the lane at the same time he accelerated, the ten year-old had just under a two-length lead with an eighth of a mile to go.
"Obviously I was hoping he'd hang on from there and I didn't hear anybody at that point. Then I heard Giles L S Hanover (Steve Wiseman) coming late on the far outside, so I got after my horse and he hung on just like he did last week."
Owned by Jim Winske and trained by Gordie Graham, the well rated gelding held on to win ($3.00) by three-quarters of one-length, in 2:00. Giles L S Hanover finished in second, and Twice The Ruckus (James Kennedy) finished 2-1/2 lengths farther back, in third.
"Considering the conditions and his soundness, I thought he put in a great effort. My thanks as always to my girlfriend Meredith, who canceled a trip tonight to go back home to New Jersey to be with her family for the holiday. She changed her flight to Friday to stay here and take care of him because she knew me and Alpine Hawk would mess it up," laughed Wojcio. "I couldn't do it without her."
Live racing resumes at Cal Expo on Friday (December 16) & Saturday (December 17) night at 6:00 p.m. (PST). On Friday, Cal Expo offers free parking & free admission after 4:30 p.m. Also on Friday, Cal Expo offers Happy Hour between 6:00-8:30 p.m., where $2 Beer, $2 Wine & $2 Buffalo Wings an order is offered.
Cal Expo now offers a reduced 15 percent takeout rate on all Pick 4’s (Thursday/Friday nights in partnership with the USTA Strategic Wagering Committee). In addition, all Late Pick 4’s will come with a $10,000-guaranteed pool. On Saturday night, there will be a 0% takeout on successful Late Pick 4 tickets made at Cal Expo or at Twinspires.com.
