The
Marvin Hannah Memorial Trot and a pair of $12,000 California Sire Stakes for
sophomore fillies headline the Friday night (May 25) action at Cal Expo.
The
Marvin Hannah honors the memory of the longtime owner/breeder who passed away
in March at the age of 75. Along with
his wife of 44 years, Judy, Mr. Hannah campaigned such outstanding individuals
as Thadrow and Lightly Spiced, and owned the stallion Spicy Charlie for the
last 11 years of his life.
Marvin
and Judy were introduced to the sport in 1974 by Danny Parrish and in a short
period of time had part of a horse. They
ended up owning several performers in a syndicate with Ron Curtis and with that
money Marvin eventually went to the track for three years to learn to train.
He
worked with Pat Wheeler, John Christiano and Gary Perry, and he and Perry were
the first to train at Greenbriar, before it officially opening. The first horse they purchased from a sale
was Bear Hug from Glen Holt in 1983.
Over the years, the Hannahs have had farms here in California in Elk
Grove and Wilton.
Vickie
Desomer said, “Marvin, Judy, my husband Steve and I shared wonderful times both
on and off the track. I remember Marvin
as a most determined horseman, always willing to learn and expand. He had a ‘can-do’ attitude that was beyond
compare.”
The
field for the Marvin Hannah Memorial carries a $5,000 purse and matches Giles L
S Hanover, Tokyo Oklahoma, The Goose, K D Nicol, Alpine Hawk, BK’s Stiff,
Winsom Kelly, Broadway Victory, Dreaming Of Amy and Betty Elizabeth.
Taking
a look at the two Sire Stakes, Diva Las Vegas gets the top billing in the
pacing event while Silverlode will attempt to make a clean sweep of the
big-money events for the trotting fillies at this meeting.
Diva
Las Vegas is a daughter of Hi Ho Silverheel’s and the Little Steven mare
Prettylittlerebel who carries the banner of Wayne Knittel and trainer Denise
Maier with Tim Maier handling the driving duties.
The
bay miss already has three stakes trophies on her mantle, including the last
two decided for this group. She did the
track-and-attack to perfection in the April 27 gathering and drew off by three
lengths in the stretch, then made every pole a winning one in the most recent
big dance two weeks ago and established a new career standard of 1:56.1 in the
process.
Little
Anna Mae was the runner-up in that affair and gives the Maier barn two strong
looks at the outcome. The Little Steven
offspring carries the banner of Eileen Brodbar, breeder Alan Kirschenbaum and
her conditioner, and looms large with the cozy one-hole draw here.
While
Little Anna Mae is seeking her first stakes win, she has certainly been dropping
hints with a fourth and two runner-up finishes in the big-money jousts at this
meeting. She got a pocket trip behind
Diva Las Vegas in the May 11 gathering and came home smartly for miss by
three-quarters of a length.
La
Madawna De Rosa picked up the show money that evening after a game first-over
mile for owner/breeder Cindy Tupper, trainer Bob Johnson, and regular pilot
Lemoyne Svendsen. She has two wins from
her nine starts, including a 1:57 score in a conditioned event on April 6.
Completing
the field are Pismo Beach, one of three Johnson trainees in the cast; Twentyone
Guns with Scott Cisco; On The Way Home with James Kennedy giving directions;
and Drawing Dead, who will be doing her work from the outside post in the field
of seven.
Silverlode
will face only one rival in California Crush in the trotting stakes, which will
go as a non-betting event prior to the regular program. The British Sterling homebred has romped in
all three added-money appearances this year for Desomer Stables with Steve
Desomer at the controls.
*********
Live
racing resumes at Cal Expo on Friday (May 25) & Saturday (May 26) 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.
