Facing
much easier in his second start off a 4-1/2 month layoff, combined with a style
of racing he likes, saw Doc's Zilla upset.
Conditioned
pacers, racing for a purse of $5,000, were co-featured at Cal Expo on Saturday
night (May 19) in the Dennis Giles Memorial, on which Doc's Zilla made every
call a winning one.
In
advance of starting from post-three in the field of nine, driver Tim Maier knew
one thing and was advised of another.
"When
he raced last week against Albion in the Winners-Over, he needed that
start," said Maier. "Off the
(class) drop I thought he looked more than competitive in there. As far as strategy, my instructions were to
get him off the gate because he hardly ever gets beaten on the front-end."
Accelerating
into the first-turn to put Strikes N Charges (Darren Lupul) in the pocket,
Doc's Zilla zipped the opening quarter in a rapid :27.3, and Maier wasn't
letting up.
"I
just kept the pedal down because I didn't want to give anybody any idea of
pulling on the right-line."
Reaching
the half-mile station, timed in a brisk :56.1, Maier kept to the plan.
"He
felt good at that point and my thoughts from there were to keep him
rolling."
Slowing
down the tempo a bit, but still reaching the three-quarter mile marker, timed
in 1:25.1, Maier had no reason to believe his charge couldn't keep going.
"At
that point I was just going to look for the wire, but he still felt good."
With
the field now in the lane, Maier pretty much only had to drive on his pacer.
"When
we entered the stretch I urged him once or twice, but he just acted like if I
got into him too much that he might not like it. So I just hand drove him the rest of the way
and he was game to the wire."
Holding
tough, the four year-old won ($17.80) by three-quarters of one-length. Owned by Toman Enterprises LTD and trained by
Earl Kennedy, the gelding stopped the timer at 1:54.1, establishing a seasonal
mark. Hi Fidelity (Scott Cisco) finished
in second, and Strikes N Charges finished another three-quarters of one-length
farther back, in third.
"He
raced big and his connections were very happy,” finished Maier. The victory for Toman Enterprises was the
first of three ownership victories. For
trainer Earl Kennedy, the triumph also started the beginning of a conditioning
triple.
Live
racing resumes at Cal Expo on Friday (May 25) & Saturday (May 26) 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.
