Tony Cheesecake gets the final
stakes laugh
By Mark
Ratzky, publicity – Cal Expo Harness
It took him 12 stabs and he waited until
the last big dance, but Tony Cheesecake got his overdue stakes trophy last
weekend with James Kennedy in the sulky behind the Junior Wilkinson trainee.
Coming into the final Sire Stakes for
the 4-year-old pacing males, the Little Steven homebred had racked up a second,
a third and nine fourth-place finishes while taking on the likes of
Rikybrnthegaragdwn and King Of The Crop, but he showed revenge is a dish best
served cold with last Saturday’s score.
“It was really a case of his not being
quite as good as a few of those pacers up until this year,” related Wilkinson,
who co-owns Tony Cheesecake with Billie Schwartz and David Rachford.
“He’d even been favored a couple of
times in those stakes, which kind of surprised me, and he had to settle for
minor awards on those nights. He’s a better horse now, and it certainly helped
that he got a great trip.”
Kennedy left into the garden spot behind
odds-on King Of The Crop, was able to sit behind a spirited duel with that
rival and Rickybrnthegaragdwn, then came a sizzling :26 3/5 final quarter to
post the 10-1 upset and earn his initial stakes decision in the last scheduled
added-money event for this division.
“The one thing I told James was we couldn’t
be on the front end,” Wilkinson explained. “He was able to float out of there
and drop into a perfect spot and got the trip. I have a lot of respect for the
other horses, but it was his night.”
Tony Cheesecake is an example of that
old adage if you don’t succeed at first, try, try again.
Sire Stakes,
Open Pace and Trot featured
A
$10,000 California Sire Stakes for sophomore pacing males that matches
Uringoodhands and Hi Ho’s Little Rev; an Open Trot headed by El Azteca; and a
contentious Open Pace are the main events on Saturday’s 14-race Watch and Wager
LLC program at Cal Expo.
Uringoodhands
is a homebred son of Kent’s On Nuke out the Surmo Hanover mare Sparks Will Fly
who is owned by Mark Anderson, hails from the Gordie Graham barn and will once
again have James Kennedy at the controls.
The
dark-hued performer has accounted for three of the four stakes races decided
for this group, the most recent coming in coast-to-coast fashion on February 28
as the 1-5 choice. He prevailed by a neck that night over the pocket-sitting Hi
Ho’s Little Rev while equaling his mark with the 1:55 1/5 clocking.
Hi
Ho’s Little Rev has a stakes trophy and has been runner-up in the other three
big-money dances. Vanessa Gilliam owns the son of Hi Ho Silverheel’s with Bob
Johnson the conditioner and Mooney Svendsen handling the lines. He held off
Uringoodhands by a neck in the January 17 stakes clash.
Completing
the field are Laissezmoipocouler, who leaves from the cozy rail slot with
Williams Hernandez; Sounion, who has the services of Tim Maier; Lodi Machette
Man for Pierre Girard; and Musician with Luke Plano.
***********
Saturday’s
card features a $57,226 carryover in the Jackpot 6. The Jackpot 6 is a 10-cent minimum
bet and is one of four wagers on the program with a reduced 16% takeout rate.
The
other reduced takeout wagers are the Hi-5, which is conducted on the final race
and like the Jackpot 6 is a 10-cent minimum; the 50-cent Pick 5; and the
20-cent Pick 4, which comes with a $25,000-guaranteed pool.
