Plano, Wiseman and Kennedy have
driving ambition
By Mark Ratzky, publicity – Cal Expo Harness
One
of the best races of the meet could be for the driving crown, with Luke Plano,
Steve Wiseman and James Kennedy staking a claim for the title through the first
six weeks of this stand.
Plano
came into this week atop the standings with 20 trips to the charmed enclosure,
bringing his lifetime total to 2,644 with $9.5 million in earnings. Luke is
following in the footsteps of his father Rick, who was a leading driver and
trainer in California for many years.
“There
are some new horsemen here and that adds to the competitiveness of the racing,”
Plano said. “I’ll have a few horses in my barn, but I prefer to concentrate on
the driving.”
Steve
Wiseman is currently second with 18 victories to his credit at the meet, while
leading the trainer stands with 15 of his representatives returning to have
their picture taken. His total driving wins now stands at 2,136 with $8.2
million in earnings.
“Being
the leading driver and trainer was the goal coming into the meet,” Steve
explained. “I’ve never won a training title before, so that would be nice, and
I’ve got a great crew to help me.”
James
Kennedy is also off to a good start here with 13 snapshots and figures to be
right in the hunt through the close of business in early May. Kennedy, who
recorded a number of driving and training victories with the popular mare
Haggin Oaks, currently sits with 866 sulky scores on his resume.
A
reminder there are four wagers offered here every night with a reduced 16%
takeout rate. They are the 50-cent Pick 5; the Jackpot 6; the Pick 4 and the
Hi-5 on the nitecap.
Featured Pace brings out A Real Miracle
A
Real Miracle, victorious in three of his five appearances at the meet, looks to
keep the momentum going when he heads the cast for Saturday night’s $6,000 Open
Pace at Cal Expo.
A
12-race card is on tap with first post set for 6:10 p.m. There is now Saturday
and Sunday racing under the Watch and Wager LLC banner with first post on
Sunday at 4:40 p.m. Beginning December 26, Friday action will be added to the
mix.
A
Real Miracle is a 4-year-old son of Real Desire who is owned by Junior
Wilkinson, 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 three times from five 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.
In the most recent clash at the top of the class, A
Real Miracle was dispatched as the 3-5 favorite and did not disappoint the
chalkplayers. Plano buzzed the bay performer right to the front, moderated the
pace and then held safe by a neck over the pocket-sitting longshot Mar Dream.
The
latter put a score into the favorite last week, as he sat the pocket journey
and missed by only a neck while two and a half-lengths clear of the rest of the
field A 6-year-old son of Cambest, Mar Dream is owned by David Neumeister, is
trained by Bob John and will again have Mooney Svendsen at the controls. He has
a 1:50 2/5 mark and over $171,000 in his account.
Rounding
out the field from the rail out are Cenalta Power for Ryan Grundy; Lifetime
Louie with Dave Siegel; Ideal Smile, Steve Wiseman; and Pointsman, who will
have the services of Chip Lackey. The headliner goes as the fourth race on the
program.
A
reminder that there are four wagers offered here every night with a reduced 16%
takeout rate. They are the 50-cent Pick 5; the Jackpot 6; the Pick 4 and the
Hi-5 on the nitecap
.
