He
didn't win as decisively, but when 1:52.2 came up on the board, it didn't
matter because Albion was in front at the wire for his third straight.
Winners-Over
pacers, racing for a purse of $4,500, were featured at Cal Expo on Saturday
night (April 7), on which Albion won for the 24th time.
With
the field sent on their way, driver Luke Plano was set to leave with his pacer,
but his six year-old needed a reminder as a result of a good memory.
"I
ducked him last week, so he really didn't have his mind set on leaving
tonight," stated Plano. "So I
had to give him a little push and he responded nicely."
Now
firing out once given one left-handed/left-line shake, the gelding obtained the
lead and eighth of a mile past the start, whereupon Plano slowed up the second
eighth of the opening quarter, but Albion still paced the first-quarter in
:27.3. Did he use his gelding?
"I
used him a little, but judging the field I didn't see a whole lot of
backstretch moves, so I thought I could get a pretty solid breather to offset
the first-quarter."
Under
a nice grip in a rated and easy second-quarter, Albion reached the half-mile
juncture, timed in :57.
"It
was a successful breather - - exactly what I was looking for - - but it was
still a tough group and I didn't think I was home yet."
With
the field now racing on the final-turn, Plano took a few looks back before
urging his horse once midway through the final turn. Did he get a response and why did he ask?
"He
responded, and in a race where there are such solid closers, plus with One And
Only (Jim Lackey), a very respectful horse on my back, I just didn't want to go
too slow, or too fast which could serve it up for the guys in the back. So going a :28.4 third-quarter was perfect
and kept everybody at bay. At the
three-quarters, I still thought I'd have enough pace to get home and win."
Getting
a notch let out at the three-quarter mile marker, timed in 1:25.4, Plano gave
his charge a wheel-disc urge to the head of the lane, just into it, and again
at the seven-eighths mile pole, where One And Only was now on the move.
"I
still thought my horse had a lot of pace left, but I was having flashbacks of
the last time One And Only followed and beat me back on March 2 - - so I had
some slight concerns."
With
the field now just a sixteenth of a mile from the finish, did Plano have more
worries when One And Only started surging?
"I
thought Lackey did a good job of drafting down the stretch and at the
sixteenth-pole (15-16ths) he was coming pretty quickly, but when my horse
really got a good look at him, that's when he really dug in and was pacing
full. As a result I thought I was going
to hold and coming to the wire my horse fought him off."
Under
a drive late and holding fairly safe, Albion scored ($2.80) by a long
neck. Owned by Dan Tullio & James Mascola
in partnership with trainer Matias Ruiz, the son of The
Panderosa-Arcatraz-Artsplace stopped the timer in a seasonal best 1:52.2, which
was, for a little over two hours, the fastest mile of the year at Cal Expo
until Whipped Dreams (Jim Lackey) won in 1:52 six races later. One And Only was a nice second, and Amigo De
Garcia (Steve Wiseman) finished 4-1/2 lengths farther back, in third.
"It
was an outstanding mile and the horse remains in tiptop shape," concluded
Plano, who recorded six wins on the 15 race program.
Live
racing resumes at Cal Expo on Friday (April 13) & Saturday (April 14) at
6:00 p.m. (PDT). On
every live card, Cal Expo offers free parking & free admission after 4:30
p.m. On Friday, Cal Expo offers Happy Hour from 4:00-7:00 p.m. on which Beer; Well
Drinks & Wine are offered at $4 each, while a Burger with fries is offered at $5.
Cal
Expo currently offers a reduced 15 percent takeout rate on all Pick
4’s. Additionally, all Late Pick 4’s now
come with an increased $20,000-guaranteed gross pool. Also, the Friday Late Pick 4 will offer a 0%
takeout on all winning wagers made on track or at Twinspires.com, while the
Saturday Late Pick 4 will be broadcast on TVG.
