Lindsey trainees having
twice as much fun
By Mark Ratzky, publicity – Cal Expo Harness
Last week’s initial Friday
night program was a good one for trainer Kennedy Lindsey, who ended up posing
for pictures with the pacer Whatchamacallum and the trotter Katie Mouse.
Both performers were making
it two straight wins, with Whatchamacallum proving his 46-1 shocker the
previous week was no fluke, while Katie Mouse was the 6-5 choice after
recording a 9-1 upset in her prior appearance.
“My entire barn got a little
sick when we got back from Chicago,” noted Lindsey. “I knew they were all going
to be at least a week behind everybody else.”
Whatchamacallum is 5-year-old
who carries the banner of Patricia Stevens and has been guided in his last two
tallies by James Kennedy. He has been up close and personal in both those miles
and won clearly on both occasions.
“I was surprised as anybody
when he won that first race, because I thought he would need another start,”
his mentor noted. “He set a new mark that night, and then he came back and set
another one last time after getting roughed up on the first turn.”
Katie Mouse has done the
track-and-attack to perfection for veteran Chip Lackey in her last two trips to
the post and like Whatchamacallum, spent the summer at Hawthorne Park. “She
kept racing first over in Chicago, and that’s not the way she likes to be
driven,” Lindsey said. “She wants to sit in and come for the stretch, which is
what she’s done in her last two here. I thought she was the one to beat.
“Our other horse in that race
(Shez So Sassy) gets kind of hard to control when she makes the front and I had
a feeling she was going to be in trouble when she was racing up there.”
Annette Funicello Final
atop the marquee
The $8,200 Annette Funicello
Final for pacing fillies and mares is the main attraction on Friday night’s
card at Cal Expo, with The Bearded Lady looming the one to beat after posting a
dominating score last weekend.
There are 12 races on tap
under the Watch and Wager LLC banner with a 6:10 first post for both the Friday
and Saturday programs.
The Bearded Lady is a
4-year-old daughter of Mach Three out of the Jate Lobell mare Madam Christie
who is owned by Mark Anderson, hails from the Gordie Graham barn and will once
again have the services of James Kennedy.
In last week’s Funicello
prep, The Bearded Lady sat last for a half, began to pick up momentum on the
final bend and then stormed home to draw of to a three and one-half length
victory as the 3-2 favorite.
Lining up against her on
Friday are Rodeo Blues with Andy Arsenault; Wisecrack, William Hernandez;
Queenofhot, Mark Kennedy; Wizzel Stix with Steve Wiseman at the helm; Slick
Fall, Tony Succarotte; and Pa’s Corn Squeezin, to be guided by Luke Plano.
****
The 50-cent Pick 5 and the
20-cent Pick 4, which both come with a reduced 16 percent takeout, continue to
pay well here with a nice bonus for the winners courtesy of that lower rate.
Last Saturday night’s Pick 5
returned $3,104, while the using the regular takeout it would have been $2,771,
a difference of $331 per winning 50-cent ticket. The Pick 4 on the
program was good for $5,321 for the 20-cent investment, with a $4,750 return
with the regular take for an increase of a cool $571 for each ticket holder.
