By Mark Ratzky, publicity – Cal Expo Harness
After
taking a few weeks off, Phantom Dan returns to the wars in Saturday’s Open Pace
while taking on the classy Pancetta and the streaking Doc’s Zippy in the main
event.
The
6-year-old son of Little Steven is owned, trained and driven by James Kennedy
and was last seen capturing the March 22 Open Handicap Pace by a nose over
heavily-favored One And Only while lowering his career standard to 1:52 1/5 in
the process.
“There
was nothing wrong with him,” Kennedy explained. “It’s just that he’d been
racing his you-know-what off and I wanted to give him a bit of a break and do a
little work on him.”
While
Phantom Dan came from last to account for that most recent outing, in his
previous victory in a conditioned affair he used front-end tactics to get the
job done, putting his versatility on full display. “I’ve learned that he there
are two ways to race him,” his mentor noted. “You either leave with him and let
him roll, or you duck and let him do his pacing at the end.”
As
far as the Phantom Dan you would find around the barn, James describes him as
“A Pig”, while wearing a smile on his face. “His happiest times are when he’s
in a pen and he can just roll around in the mud. He absolutely loves it. He
also eats anything you put in front of him, from donuts to hamburgers.”
Apparently
this playful nature and unusual diet agree quite well with the performer, who
looks to keep the momentum going this weekend after getting a little R and R at
Camp Kennedy.
A REMINDER THERE ARE THREE WAGERS EACH NIGHT THAT
OFFER A REDUCED 16 PERCENT TAKEOUT RATE. THEY ARE THE 50-CENT PICK 5; THE
20-CENT PICK 4 WITH A $20,000-GUARANTEED POOL ON FRIDAY AND A $25,000 GUARANTEE
ON SATURDAY; AND THE 10-CENT HI-FIVE ON THE NITECAP.
Open Pace entices hard-knocking cast
Pancetta,
who had to settle for second in his seasonal debut while leaving from the
testing No. 10 post over a sloppy track last weekend; Doc’s Zippy, who got the
job done in that affair for his second straight score, and the always-dangerous
Phantom Dan headline Saturday night’s Open Pace at Cal Expo.
A
13-race card is on tap with first set at 5:45 p.m. The Open Pace goes as the
third event on the evening with One And Only and Mobil Big John completing the
cast.
Pancetta
is a 5-year-old son of No Pan Intended out of the Life Sign mare Gingerbread
Square who is owned by Richard Morita and David Yamada, takes his lessons from
Lino Pacheco and will have Steve Wiseman at the controls.
Pancetta comes into this assignment just shy of the
$200,000 earnings plateau with a 1:51 1/5 mark that was established last year
at Pocono Downs. He was making his first start since December last week while
doing his work from that demanding No. 10 post over the sloppy going and put in
a solid effort for the place spot.
Doc’s
Zippy will be looking for his third straight trip to the charmed enclosure for
the team of Toman Enterprises Ltd, trainer George Anthrop and pilot Patrick
Galbraith. The son of Cams Eclipse was a 1:51 victor last season over the
Colonial Downs strip.
Two
starts back, Doc’s Zippy took the measure of a conditioned field while coming
from last, then did the stalk-and-pounce to perfection last week while
seemingly appreciating the off going . Galbraith came first over with his
charge at the half, gained command straightening for home and prevailed by a
length and a half over the 1-5 favorite.
Phantom
Dan is making his first start since capturing the March 15 Open for his
owner/driver/trainer James Kennedy. The 6-year-old Little Steven gelding has a
versatile style that gives Kennedy options when the gate rolls.
