El Grande
Real Ignites Toteboard At Cal Expo
Friday, April 27, 2012 - by Mark
Ratzky, Publicity -- Cal Expo
Coming
off an eighth-place finish at odds of 91-1, E Grande Real wasn’t getting much
respect from the bettors at Cal Expo in last Saturday’s (April 21) nightcap for
owner/trainer Larry Alterman and provisional driver Alberto Pacheco.
It’s
apparent the 11-year-old pacer can’t read the past performances, because he
went out there and posted a solid first-over victory while returning $55 to his
faithful backers in the conditioned $2,500 seller.
“If
you notice, he took a week off and he races much better when he’s fresh,”
Pacheco pointed out. “I had a feeling he
was going to go a big mile, because he had a much better post position and was
very strong during the warm-up. That’s
the way he raced.”
For
Pacheco, the victory was the third in his career. He got his initial snapshot with Pips Jenny G
in December, then didn’t click again until guiding the trotter Try This to
victory two weeks ago. He followed that
up with the big upset behind El Grande Real last weekend.
“The
win with Pips Jenny G was very special.
She went right to the front and just kept on going. It was a big relief, because I had gone
20-something starts without a win. After
the race, they called me over and said the stewards wanted to talk to me, but
it turned out to be the other drivers and they hit me with six buckets of
water. I didn’t mind at all.”
The
win with Try This marked Pacheco's initial chance to drive a horse as low as
even-money and the chalk players were not to be disappointed that evening.
“It
was the first time I had driven him in a race, but I won a qualifier with him
when I was getting my P license, so I had a lot of confidence. It’s a great feeling anytime you win a race.”
Looks
Don’t Count and Rite After Disbeer get the respective top billing in the two
$12,000 California Sire Stakes for the 3-year-old pacing and trotting colts at
Cal Expo Saturday night (April 28).
Looks
Don’t Count is a homebred pacing son of Little Steven and the Denali mare The
Beast’s Beauty who is co-owned by Marlene and Rick Thomas and trainer George
Reider and will have James Kennedy at the helm from the outside post.
In
the first stakes clash of the season for this group, Looks Don’t Count sat a
stalking journey for Kennedy, ignited when the question was asked in the
stretch and swept by the leaders for a length and a half score in a 1:57
performance. A repeat mile will
obviously make him very tough right back.
Leaving
inside him on Saturday are Bee Gee with Steve Wiseman; Hollywood Star, to be
guided by Lemoyne Svendsen; Artability for Alberto Pacheco; Ra Ra Steven with
Rich Wojcio; and Bloom N Doom, who has Jim Lackey in the bike.
The
trotting event will go as a non-betting affair prior to the regular
program. Rite After Disbeer is a son of
New Age Hanover who is owned and was bred by Mary Harris with Kennedy Lindsey
the conditioner and Luke Plano at the controls.
After
getting a needed debut effort under his belt on March 10, he was ready to show
his stuff in that initial stakes attempt two weeks ago and did the
pounce-and-attack to perfection with Plano.
Taking him on will be Loose Cannon, High Dollar, Lees Persuader and
Light Red.
A
14-race program is on tap, with a $4,000 event for fillies and mares kicking
off the action. Haggin Oaks will be
returning to distaff-only competition here and will definitely have her share
of backers.
Live
racing resumes at Cal Expo on Friday (April 27) & Saturday (April 28) at
6:00 p.m. (PST). 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.
