Albion
Once Again On Outside Looking In At Cal Expo
Friday, June 8, 2012 - by Mark
Ratzky, Publicity -- Cal Expo
For
the third straight start at Cal Expo, Albion will be leaving from the assigned
No. 10 post position in Saturday night’s (June 9) main event with Luke Plano in
his usual position in the sulky.
A
winner of 11 of his 19 starts this season, the Matias Ruiz-trained pacer had no
trouble with the demanding slot on May 18, as he ducked early and then brushed
to the lead at the half en route to a two-length score.
In
last week’s assignment, however, he found himself third over on the cover train
going into the final bend. While he put
in a game finish for Plano, he came up a nose short as Haggin Oaks responded
when the question was asked and posted the upset.
“The
biggest disadvantage with having the 10 hole is if you try for the lead, and
you have to make your decision right at the start, there’s no in-between,” Luke
explained. “To be honest, with a horse
like Albion it’s not as big a deal because I can do anything I want with him
and it’s not like there’s nine horses inside of us.
“The
race two back, they were mixing it up pretty good in the early part and I just
let him sit until they slowed up. When I
brushed him to the lead, he was strong and won nicely.”
Sent
off at 60 cents on the dollar for last week’s tour, the race didn’t set up
quite as well.
“This
time we were third over and it wasn’t the greatest cover,” Plano related. “One And Only wasn’t quite keeping up in
front of us, so I had to move around him a little earlier and it certainly made
the difference.
“Take
nothing away from Haggin Oaks, though, she deserves plenty of credit. I thought we had her measured the length of
the stretch and she just dug in and wouldn’t let my horse get by.”
It
will be interesting if history can repeat itself this time around with Haggin
Oaks moving out to the five slot and Albion back in No Man’s Land.
***********
Saturday’s
action will include the simulcast of two North America Cup Pace eliminations
from Mohawk Raceway. On Saturday, June
16, Cal Expo will be simulcasting the entire North America Cup program from
Mohawk, highlighted by the $1.5 million fixture for 3-year-old pacers.
Albion, Haggin
Oaks Get A Rematch Saturday At Cal Expo
Albion,
who has been the dominant player at the head of the class this season; and
Haggin Oaks, the classy mare who hung a nose decision on him last week to snap
his winning streak, are the marquee players in Saturday night’s (June 9) $6,800
Winners-Over Pace at Cal Expo.
Racing-secretary
Fred Kuebler has changed things around a bit as far as post position
assignments are concerned. While last
week saw Haggin Oaks doing her work from the cozy one-hole while Albion had the
testing No. 10 post, this match-up will find mare moving to the 5-slot while
Albion will once again go postward from the extreme outside.
Albion
is a 6-year-old son of The Panderosa who has clicked in 11 of his 19 trips to
the post this season with $112,000 in the bank and a 1:51.1 standard that was
established last season. He carries the
banner of Dan Tullio, James Mascola and trainer Matias Ruiz with Luke Plano
will be in his usual place in the sulky.
The
dark-hued performer rattled off four straight wins at the head of the class
between April 21 and May 18, on each occasion dominating his rivals, including
the last of those tallies which found him leaving from that testing No. 10
slot.
Albion
was once again assigned the extreme outside for his most recent tour and was
dispatched as the 3-5 favorite. He put
in a powerful late move, but ended up on the wrong end of a nose photo with
Haggin Oaks and saw his winning skein snapped.
Haggin
Oaks is a homebred, multiple stakes-winning Hi Ho Silverheels mare who goes
about her business for Shari Burns, Ferris Funk and Jerry Cimini with James
Kennedy doing the driving and training.
She recently went over the $100,000 earnings plateau and set her 1:53.2
mark over the Cal Expo layout last year.
Sent
off at nearly 7-1 last week, Kennedy used Haggin Oaks early to keep position
from the pole. When the question was
asked in the stretch, she had the needed response and gamely prevailed to pick
up her fifth snapshot of the 2012 season.
Looking for an upset are Cowboy Hanover, Tax Relief, One And Only and
Split Ticket.
Live
racing resumes at Cal Expo on Friday (June 8) & Saturday (June 9) 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.
