One And Only, who suits up in Saturday night’s (December 10) Cal Expo opener, has been good to those who have backed him in his last seven appearances. During that period he has recorded three victories while returning double figures, including a 16-1 score to kick off the sequence on October 15.
Jim Lackey is the regular pilot for the 3-year-old son of Bettor’s Delight, who carries the banner of Richard Morita and David Yamada and hails from the Liberio Pacheco barn. He’s coming off a narrow loss to Cycle Power under Saturday’s conditions, with that pacer headed back to the Winners-over ranks.
“I remember Mike Lachance talking about Bettor’s Delight, and he said he was the complete package,” Lackey explained. “I would describe One And Only the same way. I don’t know if he’ll ever be anywhere near as fast as his sire, but he’s an absolute joy to drive and tries hard each and every time. He’s got all the qualities you look for in a racehorse.”
Following back-to-back wins on October 17 and November 4, paying off at 5-1 and 6-1 to his backers, the Pacheco trainee had to settle for fourth-place finishes at this level before the near miss to Cycle Power at most recent asking.
“He was drawn to the outside in those two races before the last one,” Lackey explained. “I saved as much as I could and came home strong in both those races, but they just didn’t set up for him. Last week, I raced him pretty hard early and he never quit trying. It was a game effort for him and Cycle Power, and now we don’t have to chase that one again.”
