By Mark Ratzky, publicity – Cal Expo Harness
It had been some time between drinks for the trotter
K D Nicol when he suited up for owner/trainer Keith Willey and pilot Tim Maier
last weekend, but the 9-year-old came through with his first victory of the
year and lowered his mark to 1:58 2/5 in the process.
“K D Nicol was named in honor of our good friend
Nicol Trembaly, who passed away the same year this horse was born,” related
Willey. “Earlier in his career, he came with throat problems, so we had surgery
done.
“The first time did not do the job, so we did it
again and that time it was successful. Next came the problem of getting him to
finish down the stretch, as he had gotten into the habit of giving up due to
his breathing problems.”
While he hadn’t reached the winner’s circle in nine
starts on the year, K D Nicol had been dropping some hints and a class drop and
cozy rail draw put him over the top last Saturday night.
“This year, Patrick Galbraith did a good job of
getting him to finish and he started picking up some checks,” Keith continued.
“When Patrick left to take care of some family matters, we turned to Tim, who
has been giving him some very aggressive drives.”
In that last assignment, K D Nicol made a strong
brush at the quarter to take command past the half, showed the way to the lane
with a clear advantage and didn’t give an inch while returning $16 to his
backers.
“We felt that he had been racing well and with the
right post and trip, he would be able to pull it off. Tim gave him the perfect
drive and he was able to hang on down the stretch. I always felt he was better
than what he was showing and here’s hoping he can continue.”
Program features Sire Stakes, Distaff Open Pace
A pair of
$10,000 California Sire Stakes, including a very contentious event for the sophomore
pacing fillies; and a Distaff Open Pace will be the highlights on Sunday
evening’s program at Cal Expo under the Watch and Wager LLC banner.
There are 11
races scheduled with a first post of 4:55 p.m. The Distaff Open is the 3rd
event on the card, while the Sire Stakes for pacing fillies is the 5th
event on the evening and the Sire Stakes for the trotters will be a non-betting
affair prior to the regular program.
The
five Sire Stakes events for the sophomore pacing fillies have resulted in four
different winners, with Smash being the one with two trophies on her mantle.
The Little Steven homebred races for Junior Wilkinson and Billie Schwartz with
Wilkinson the conditioner and Luke Plano in his usual spot in the bike.
After
finishing second in the first stakes clash back on January 18 and missing the
next one due to a sick scratch, Smash accounted for the February 15 and March 1
big-money clashes in sharp style, setting her 1:56 1/5 mark in the latter
event. She had to settle for third as the 3-5 choice in the most recent stakes
gathering two weeks ago.
It
was Speak English who got the job done that evening at 15-1 while making her
debut for owner/breeder Frank Nevarez, trainer Gordie Graham and driver Tim
Maier. She rallied from last to win going away by two and three-quarter lengths
in an impressive unveiling. Rounding out the line-up are Little Cher Amio, Pips
Valentina, Avila Beach and Hold For Gold.
Sandy’s
Song has made a clean sweep of the Sire Stakes for the 3-year-old trotters, dominating
her rivals on each occasion. Henry Wieseneck owns, Bob Johnson trains and Steve
Wiseman has guided the bay miss to all her victories. Taking her on are Zoeys
Delight, Jk Journey and Cadet.
********
Next week will
find the trotters and pacers in action on Friday and Saturday night, April 3
and 4, with no racing Easter Sunday. The following week racing returns to the
Saturday and Sunday schedule.
