By Mark
Ratzky, publicity – Cal Expo Harness
It
may have said 27-1 on the board, but Incredible Gambler looked more like an
odds-on favorite last week as she took aim on the leaders at the head of the
stretch and won going away with Dave Siegel in the sulky. She attempts an
encore in Saturday night’s 10th race.
Incredible
Gambler, a 7-year-old daughter of Allamerican Ingot, currently carries the
banner of Clint Lugar and hails from the Lino Pacheco barn. Making her first
start since late August at Vernon Downs and sporting a qualifier with the
comment “under wraps”, she was ready to rock and roll off the bench.
While
Siegel was merely the passenger for the latest victory, he has a successful
history with Incredible Gambler that also includes posing for pictures as the
owner of this hard-hitting distaffer. “I
claimed her back in April of last year,” Siegel explained. “I owned her for a
little over a year, though she was claimed a couple of times in between.
Matias Ruiz trained her and she was about as reliable a performer as there can
be.
“I have won with her 11 times,
and I think except for one race where she broke, she got a check in something
like 25 consecutive races. Clint purchased her from me at the end of the
last meet and she raced very well in Minnesota for Luke Plano, but did not seem
to like the track at Vernon Downs as much as she does the Cal Expo oval.”
Incredible Gambler, who went over
the $90,000 earnings plateau with her most recent appearance for Team
Lugar/Pacheco/Siegel, can pretty much get the job done from any position in the
race, but does have a preference.
“ While she can race any which
way, she likes coming off the pace the best, so with our shorter fields and
wide turns, she is really well suited for Sacramento,” Siegel said. “ I was
really excited when Clint asked me to drive her, especially when we have some
really good drivers here. I guess he saw how I had done with her and gave
me the nod.
“ She qualified super, and I was
just hoping for a good, off the pace trip with her in her first outing after
the trip west. But the front went fast enough, and she was her old self
coming from the back. It’s really nice to be reunited and I hope I can
continue to do well with her.”
It’s Getting Hairy, Phantom Dan square off
Saturday night’s 13-race
program is headed by an Open Pace that finds It’s Getting Hairy and Phantom Dan
in a rematch, with the former going from the outside while Phantom Dan gets
some serious relief as he moves from the demanding 10 slot to the No. 5 post
for this assignment.
Since running into serious traffic problems and losing
all chance in his local debut, It’s Getting Hairy has posted back-to-back
impressive victories for Tim and Denise Maier. The 4-year-old son of Relentless
Yankee was haltered from a $6,000 claimer in August at Running Aces and set his
1:52 3/5 mark 10 days later over that track. He is looking for his ninth win on
the year from 21 appearances.
It’s Getting Hairy came from last to prove a powerful
winner in a conditioned affair on November 2, was scratched from his next
scheduled outing and then got to the job done at the top rung in his most
recent tour. Sitting next-to-last until the final bend, he swung out to take
aim on the leaders turning for home and rolled by for the two and a
quarter-length score.
Phantom Dan kicked off the meet with three straight
victories, but could not overcome the assigned 10 post last time and faltered.
James Kennedy drives, trains and co-owns the 5-year-old son of Little Steven
with Jennifer Burns and he could easily rebound now that he isn’t doing his work from that testing slot.
The bay performer was unbeatable here between October
26 and November 9, with the last two scores coming at this Open level. In fact,
he was not beaten to a pole in those outings, twice hitting the wire in 1:54
2/5 twice and clocking a 1:55 mile in the other. His 1:53 1/5 lifetime standard
was established over this layout earlier in the season.
One And Only has been knocking on the door with two
seconds and a third since returning from Vernon Downs in New York, where he set
his 1:52 4/5 mark this summer. Richard Morita and David Yamada own, Lino
Pacheco trains and Luke Plano will once again handle the lines.
Completing the field are Giant Sculpture, who has the
cozy rail slot with trainer Gene Vallandingham in the sulky; the Gretchen
Smith-trained Steuben Jumpnjack, to be guided by Steve Wiseman; and Split
Ticket, who gives the Pacheco barn two looks at the outcome with Chip Lackey at
the controls.
