Just Plum Lucky certainly finished up 2011 in style at Cal Expo for owners Rick and Marlene Thomas and trainer George Reider, landing in the winner’s circle following four of her last five trips to the post.
While the daughter of Power Of Art is a homebred, she was actually red-tagged last year and then re-claimed by Team Thomas and Reider two months ago.
“Plum was actually the first horse Rick and Marlene bred and I broke her as a yearling,” George related.
“There are certainly some sentimental feelings there. After she was claimed from us, I told them to sit tight and if she ever goes in a $2,500 race, we’ll take her back. When she turned up for that price in November, we reached back in for her.”
The move has certainly paid off. Just Plum Lucky won her first try back in the Reider barn, had a troubled trip at next asking, and has since rattled off three in a row. The most recent saw the dark-hued mare romping home by six lengths with a :27.1 final quarter for James Kennedy.
"She is a hard horse to read and maybe some of my personality rubbed off on her," he said jokingly. “I know that she’s definitely happy to be home.”
The conditioner is especially pleased to see things going well for his clients.
“Rick and Marlene put so much time and money into our industry and I’m happy this is working out for them. We have a 3-year-old brother to Plum and we need him to have some of her speed, and then there’s another brother I’ll be breaking in a few months.
“When you have partners like Rick and Marlene Thomas and Dave, Rob and Robert Harness, it’s a joy to go to work.”
