Sophomore colts & geldings were spotlighted at Cal Expo on Saturday night (December 10) in a pair of $15,000 California Sires Stakes.
In the division for the pacers, Shamderock avenged his lone Sires Stakes defeat in two years.
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| Luke Plano |
Leaving on the delay for the pocket and getting it after a sixteenth of a mile for trainer Luke Plano from post-two in the field of five, the pair were content to sit in the garden-spot through first-half fractions of :29.1 & :58.3.
"I thought the :29.2 second-quarter was an okay quarter," said Plano. "It wasn't too slow and I was comfortable with where I was at."
Getting flushed to the rim to the midway point of the final-turn when Live A Little (Lemoyne Svendsen) was coming, Plano didn't mind leaving the 'deuce.'"
"I figured I had gotten a good enough trip, plus my horse is supposed to be good enough to win from there - - so I moved him out and took a shot."
Just one-length back under a nice hold at the three-quarter mile station, timed in 1:27.4, Plano had good reason to be feeling good.
"When I moved, (Steve) Wiseman hit the gas with Spoons at the three-quarters and we were pacing pretty fast at that point. So with my horse in high gear, I was just pretty much hanging on to him to save a little for the end. I thought I was in real good shape to win as he felt quite strong."
Forging into the lead with less than 3-16ths of a mile to go, Plano didn't have to resort to the earplugs until just past the seven-eighths mile pole.
"He was already in high gear when I kicked out the plugs and he responded and found one more notch and was comfortable right through the wire. I was never concerned in the stretch."
Getting urged some with no chance to be caught, Shamderock won ($3.40) by 2-1/4 lengths. Bred & owned by D & E Racing, the gelding stopped the timer at 1:55.3, thus giving him eleven Sires Stakes triumphs out of twelve starts. Spoons was a good second, and Badger Creek (Harold Herrera) finished two-lengths farther back, in third.
"I thought he bounced back well off the defeat in the previous Stake. He raced well, as I expected," finished Plano.
In the Stake for the trotters, a non-betting event held prior to the wagering card, Im So Sulky won his fourth straight, all in Sires Stakes.
Getting the lead from the pole in the field of three for driver Steve Wiseman, the duo cut out fractions of :30.3, 1:02.2, 1:34.1 before scoring by 1-1/4 lengths while totally under wraps. Bred in part by owner/trainer Alan Anderson, the gelding trotted the mile in 2:04. Lodi Nickolus (Pierre Girard) finished an all-out second, and Lodi Kristopher (Scott Cisco), who broke before the start, finished another 36 lengths back, in third.
Live racing resumes at Cal Expo on Thursday (December 15) at 5:30 p.m. (PST) and continues on Friday (December 16) & Saturday (December 17) at 6:00 p.m. On Thursday and every live card, Cal Expo offers free admission, as well as free preferred & general parking after 4:30 p.m. Also on Thursday night from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Cal Expo offers a complete Lasagna dinner, which includes salad and bread, for just $3.00. Additionally on Thursday, beer & wine can be purchased for $3.00 each as well.
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 nights, there will be a 0% takeout on successful Late Pick 4 tickets made at Cal Expo or at Twinspires.com.
