Shelby County and Putoneonnetformom, who gave the Rocky Stidham barn a one-two finish in the most recent clash for the top trotters on the grounds; and Franks Best, the beaten 1-2 favorite that evening, head the cast at Cal Expo in Thursday night’s (January 12) $4,500 Winners-over Trot.
After chasing home his stable-mate and Franks Best in three straight top dances for the trotting set, Shelby County got her chance to shine in the most recent gathering last week. A 5-year-old Pennsylvania-bred daughter of Chip Chip Hooray, she is owned by Ben Kenney with Stidham conditioning and Tony Succarotte in the sulky.
Succarotte was able to leave into a pocket trip behind Putoneonnetformom in that last outing, tracked to the drive and then motored for the length and a quarter score. The 1:57.1 final clocking shaved three-fifths of a second off Shelby County’s previous career standard.
Putoneonnetformom is an 8-year-old Trot For Joy homebred who carries the banner of Jeff, Gerald and Diana Cimini and will once again have James Kennedy at the controls. He comes into this assignment with $126,000 in his bank account and a 1:57.2 that was established here last year.
The dark-hued trotter made his most recent winner’s circle appearance following the New Year’s Eve card here as he made what proved to be the winning move at the quarter. He carved out all the fractions last time but was unable to contain his barn-mate when push came to shove.
Franks Best is looking to make amends after settling for minor awards at 1-5 and 1-2 in his last two trips to the post. Prior to that, he had won nine of his 26 starts in 2011, including a 1:57 lifetime-best performance. Bob Johnson owns, trains and bred the son of Armbro Scribe and the American Winner mare Inside Edition with Lemoyne Svendsen once again handling the lines.
Completing the cast are Giles L S Hanover, another Johnson trainee with Steve Wiseman at the helm; Meringue, who will have the services of Luke Plano; and Broadway Victory from the one-hole with John McKeon guiding
