A 7-year-old son of Hi Ho Silverheels, Shoot The Works is owned and trained by Matias Ruiz. He will be moving up in class for Friday’s assignment, going from a straight $5,000 claimer to a conditioned seller where he is carrying a $15,000 tag while departing from the cozy one-hole.
The hard-hitting performer started his recent winning skein back on December 1 and registered back-to-back scores while facing $4,000 company. His last three decisions have come with $5,000 to $6,000 claimers and last week’s victory saw him making what proved to be the winning move past the quarter, prevailing by three-quarters of a length for driver Luke Plano as the 8-5 favorite.
Trainer Bob Johnson will send out a strong uncoupled pair in Myra’s Hiho and Hi Ho Hi Ho. The former is owned by Johnson, Hank Wieseneck and Marty Garey, while Hi Ho Hi Ho carries the banner of Lisa Ehrlich and the conditioner.
Myra’s Hiho figures to appreciate the class relief after doing all his recent work at the Winners-Over level where he has been taking on the likes of Haggin Oaks, Marlin Hanover and Cycle Power. He won eight times last season, including a lifetime-best 1:54.4 performance over this layout.
Hi Ho Hi Ho is on the verge of reaching the $100,000 earnings plateau and sports a 1:53.1 standard. The 7-year-old finished up last season with back-to-back second-place finishes behind Marlin Hanover and Amigo De Garcia, then was third in his initial outing of the new year last week after doing his work in first-over fashion.
Rounding out the cast are Tequila On Ice, who will have Jim Lackey at the controls; Western So, to be handled by Tony Succarotte; and Yiannoulas Boy, who leaves from the outside slot with Steve Wiseman in the sulky. A 14-race card is on tap with this event going as the fourth on the evening.
Live racing resumes at Cal Expo on Thursday (January 12) at 5:30 p.m. (PST) and continues on Friday (January 13) & Saturday (January 14) 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.
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.
