Did
two weeks off and the outside post hurt Albion?
Definitely not!
Winners-Over
pacers, in quest for a purse of $5,600, were featured at Cal Expo on a windy
Saturday night (May 5), on which Albion won his sixth in the last seven.
In
advance of starting from his assigned post-eight in the field of seven
(post-one was scratched), driver Luke Plano knew what the main issue was.
"Obviously
I thought my chances were good mainly because the horse had been extremely
sharp in all recent efforts, but the post was my biggest concern," stated
Plano. "As far as strategy, I was
inclined to make a gate decision."
With
the field sent on their way, Plano left alertly with his charge and had good
reason.
"In
Cowboy Hanover's (Rich Wojcio) qualifier, he seemed a bit overly aggressive in
the beginning. If he was going to be the
same way - - I didn't want to have to deal with him. As it turned out he seemed completely under
control at the gate, so I opted to fire out and see what happened."
Racing
three-wide and leading as the field entered the first-turn, Plano started
crossing over a bit, but One And Only spilt rivals, thus Plano had his pacer
three-wide again and taking a hold.
"At
the eighth pole, it seemed like Haggin Oaks and James Kennedy, and One And Only
and Jim Lackey both seemed to accelerate quite a bit. So since I saw a big three-hole, it was my
best option to take it."
Tucking
in after 3-16ths of a mile into a :27.3 opening quarter, did Plano use his six
year-old?
"I
did use him because it was a solid quarter, but I still thought he could handle
it."
With
the second-quarter pace into a good headwind resulting in a :30.4 split, Plano
was appreciative.
"Lackey
was giving his horse a break, but he was also giving my horse a break and I
thought that helped me. As a result of
the pace being slow, I elected to stay where I was and give my horse a breather
as opposed to moving to the front."
Flushed
first-over past the five-eighths mile station, Plano had his gelding gaining
quickly at the midway point of the final-turn, then drew even with momentum at
the three-quarter mile pole, timed in 1:28.1.
"When
I moved him he felt really strong and was making up ground effortlessly."
Taking
a half-length parked out lead very late in the final-turn, a pretty confident
Plano knew why things looked pretty good.
"I
thought the second-quarter breather was key to him being hard to handle. Once I had One And Only headed, I knew he
wasn't my main concern, but I didn't know how much pace horses behind me."
Drawing
clear into the lane and under urging, Albion led by two-lengths with an eighth
of a mile to go, then opened up the rest of the way while under a drive until
the last sixteenth of a mile, all while pacing a wind-aided :26.1 final
quarter.
"Once
he forged into the lead, he was extremely powerful and paced strongly right
down to the wire."
Owned
by Dan Tullio & James Mascola in partnership with trainer Matias Ruiz,
Albion won ($3.60) by 3-3/4 lengths, in 1:54.2, thus recording his 26th career
victory. Haggin Oaks, the lone lady in
the race, finished in second, and Ivegotwhatuneed (Lemoyne Svendsen) finished a
half of one-length farther back, in third.
"It
was a very sharp effort off a week and Matias did a very good job of having him
in top form," finished Plano.
Live
racing resumes at Cal Expo on Friday (May 11) & Saturday (May 12) 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.
