Siegel
guides pair to impressive efforts
By Mark Ratzky,
publicity – Cal Expo Harness
Last Saturday night was a good
one for pilot and co-owner Dave Siegel, as he guided Lifetime Louie to victory
in the Open III Pace and finished second with the mare Country Jewel in the
Open II Pace.
Both horses are conditioned by
George Reider. Siegel partners with Brev Creech, Greg Robinson and Bob Thronson
on Country Jewel and with Reider and Dave and Rob Haness with Lifetime Louie.
“Country Jewel is a diamond,no
pun intended, that I found for the Reider barn while scouring the country for a
horse that I thought would fit in Minnesota and California and that would fare
well in George's barn. Her being Minnesota sired is preferable given the
Running Aces allowance program and our DHA program.
“That said, I expected her to be
a mid-level claimer and George and her day-to-day groom Kim Hines have done
wonders with her as she has become an open-level mare. They both have a
way of getting sometimes difficult horses to relax and not that she was that
way, but they did that with Axle last year, and Silence Son this year.
“I wanted to help George get some
nice horses that I could drive, and Jewel has become just that, the Jewel of
the barn.”
Lifetime Louie did the
stalk-and-pounce to perfection last weekend to pick up his first score of the
meeting. “Lifetime Louie was a horse we claimed last year that we knew had some
feet problems, which is another area of George's strengths. We correctly
thought he could improve the horse and he is another that has surpassed
expectations.
“Kim does an exceptional job with
Louie too, which I have come to expect from all of the horses in her
care. He is a delight to drive and very handy. He has a huge heart
and he is one I get along with very well.”
Co-features
honor Joe Lighthill, Robert Staats
The
Joe Lighthill Trot, the Robert Staats Pace and an Open II Pace share the
spotlight on Saturday night’s 13-race program at Cal Expo.
Racing
is now being conducted under the Watch and Wager LLC banner on Saturday and
Sunday nights, expanding to three nights a week on December 26 when Friday
racing is added to the mix. First post Saturday is 5:40 p.m. with a 4:45 p.m.
start on Sunday.
The
Joe Lighthill and Robert Staats are named for the late driver/trainer and late
owner/breeder who were so important to California harness racing.
The
Lighthill goes as the sixth event on the card, the Open II Pace occupies the 11th-race
slot and the Staats has been designated as the penultimate race of the evening.
The
Open II Pace is headed by A Real Miracle, a 4-year-old son of Real Desire who
is owned by Junior Wlkinson, Billie Schwartz and Ivan Axelrod, is conditioned
by Wilkinson and is guided by Luke Plano. He established his 1:52 1/5 career
standard this summer over the seven-eighths Hoosier Park oval.
The
Wilkinson trainee has clicked twice from four stats at this meet, including a
dominating victory in the main event on opening week. After tiring in his next
two tries, he returned to his winning ways last week as he made what proved to
be the winning move for Plano on the backside and went on to a length score
over favored Country Jewel.
Lining
up against A Real Miracle are Del Rio Seelster, who hails from the Gordie
Graham barn; the George Reider-trained Lifetime Louie; Mar Dream from the Bob
Johnson shedrow; and Cowboy Cold, who calls the Tim Brown barn home and leaves
from the cozy rail slot.
