Bettormeboy eyes New
Year’s feature
By Mark Ratzky, publicity – Cal Expo Harness
Bettormeboy looks to get 2017
off to a fast start when he suits up in Sunday’s main event for owners Richard
Morita and David Yamada and trainer Lino Pacheco. Luke Plano will do the
honors.
The newly-turned 7-year-old
son of Bettor’s Delight made a half-dozen trips to the winner’s circle from 32
appearances in 2016, including a lifetime-best 1:52 performance over this
layout.
Since returning from a summer
campaign at Running Aces, he has a win, a second and a third from his last
three trips to the post. The victory came over a bit easier on a sloppy track
on December 3, followed by a third behind one of Sunday’s rivals in Windsong
Jack.
“I’ve had Bettormeboy for a
couple of years now and he gives his best,” trainer Pacheco noted at entry
time. “He likes to come from off the pace, and sometimes that can hurt him when
the race doesn’t set up right.
“Three starts back, when he
was the favorite, he got stuck behind some very poor cover and I think it cost
him the win. Then he raced over that sloppy track and put in a real big finish
to win. I don’t think it really matters to him if it’s an off track or a fast
track.”
Bettormeboy is coming off a
third-place when last seen on December 17 and leaves from the No. 5 post for
this go-around. “He had a little bit of traffic last time,” his mentor noted.
Pacheco has trained for
Morita and Yamada for seven years and has sent out some solid performers for
the pair over that time. “They’re great owners who let me do the training,” he
said.
Main event brings out
Windsong Jack
Windsong Jack, runner-up in
two of his three local appearances, looks to get the overdue snapshot in Sunday
night’s featured $4,400 Open III Handicap Pace.
A 14-race card is on tap
under the banner of Watch and Wager LLC with first post set for 4:45 p.m.
Windsong Jack will leave from
the outside post in Sunday’s headliner with Mooney Svendsen at the controls.
The 6-year-old son of Santanna Blue Chip races for Little Bapa LLC and takes
his lessons from Gene Vallandingham.
The dark-hued performer was
4-5 when he made his Cal Expo debut in a November 12 Open and lost a
heartbreaker that evening after carving out all the fractions and being
overhauled late in a 1:54 mile.
He was again odds-on when
wheeled back two weeks later at the top rung, but this time stopped badly. The
Vallandingham trainee made his most recent start on December 17 in a
conditioned/optional claiming affair and missed by three-quarters of a length
in a solid outing.
Taking him on are Fort Knox,
Bettermeboy, Why Ask Why, Dontdoubthelakers, Rusty Carter and Bestnotlie
Handover.
***
Beginning next week, the
racing action here at Cal Expo will return to the regular Friday and Saturday
night schedule.
