By Mark Ratzky, publicity – Cal Expo Harness
The $10,200 Robert Gordon
final headed by Mystery Dragon and Major Jesse and the $9,000 Shelly Goudreau
final featuring Lucky Ivan and Cantholdmeback highlight Saturday night’s action
at Cal Expo.
There will be 12 races on the
evening under the Watch and Wager LLC banner with first post set for 6:10 p.m.
Mystery Dragon and Major
Jessie captured last weekend’s Gordon eliminations with identical 1:54 2/5
clocking with James Kennedy in the sulky for both scores. Mystery Dragon went
off at 4-1 in his heat, while Major Jessie returned $27 to his backers.
Mystery Dragon is a newly
turned 4-year-old son of Mystery Chase who is owned and trained by Richard
Schneider. He has accounted for four of his seven appearances at this meeting
and did the stalk-and-pounce to perfection in last Saturday’s score that saw
him prevailing by a length and a half.
Major Jesse is by Art Major
out of the Bettor’s Delight mare Hannah Isabel who goes about his business for
Ronald Rettig-Zucchi with Jessie Pacheco the conditioner. He was able to work
out a perfect pocket trip in last week’s decision with the 1:54 2/5 tour being
a new lifetime standard.
Looking at the Goudreau
final, Lucky Ivan and Cantholdmeback were victorious in their elimination races
and Luke Plano was at the helm for those scores.. Both pacers went off favored
in their respective contests.
Lucky Ivan is owned and
trained by Rick Bertrand and equaled his career mark with the 1:54 2/5
decision, while Cantholdmeback is owned and trained by Jessie Pacheco and will
be gunning for his fourth victory from his last six trips to the post.
Races honor memory of
Gordon, Goudreau
Robert Gordon passed away in 2006 at the age of 65, while Shelly Goudreau died as the result of a racing accident at Hollywood Park in 1982 at the age of 34.
Gordon started his 40-year career in Ohio and learned his lessons under the outstanding horseman Bob Farrington. He eventually settled in California and was a mainstay at the top of the trainer standings from the late 70s through the early 90s, conditioning such stars as Stand By N, Theora Hanover and Pack Leader.
Stand By N raced under the banner of Bob and Loretta Staats stable and she was his all-time favorite. The Down Under import had a 1:52 career standard and banked $255,000 in a brilliant career on the racetrack, then went on to be an equally outstanding broodmare. She was inducted in the California Hall of Fame in 2010.
Robert Gordon was a past president of the Western Harness Standardbred Association and the California Harness Horse Breeders Association, while in the early 90s he served as a director of the USTA. He was president of Premier Harness Racing, which raced at Los Alamitos, and was instrumental in keeping the sport alive in California in the mid 90s at a time when harness racing was definitely on the ropes.
Gordon was also director of backstretch operations for the Sacramento Harness Association and helped in starting the not-for-profit corporation, which was operating at Cal Expo at the time of his death.
Steve and Vickie Desomer have fond memories of their many years side-by-side with Gordon. “When Steve broke his leg in a racing accident, we turned the horses over to Bob, she recalled. It was the most fun we have had in the business no stress and great results. By the way, in addition to be an excellent horseman, Bob was always extremely good to his help. He always looked out for them and helped in any way he could.”
Shelly Goudreau passed away from injuries sustained in a racing accident at Hollywood Park on August 27, 1982 and suffered severe injuries. Six days later, on September 2, Goudreau, who was just 34 at the time, passed away.
Goudreau first got his driving license in 1966 at the age of 18 and soon led all reinsmen at Windsor Raceway for two consecutive years. It wasn’t long before he ventured to the United States to compete at several Michigan tracks.
Goudreau made the trek to California in 1977 and immediately went to the top of the driving colony. While competing at Hollywood Park and Los Alamitos, he won the most races and earned the most purse monies on that circuit for two consecutive years.
He came back east to compete at Roosevelt Raceway and Yonkers Raceway and won many major stakes in New York, including the $200,000 George Morton Levy Pace in 1979 in track-record time at Roosevelt. Goudreau drove at the Meadowlands Racetrack and was once again successful. He competed at the ‘Big M’ against another up-and-coming driver at the time named John Campbell, as well as a familiar face from home in Ray Remmen.
The 1981 season proved to be Goudreau’s best year. He competed in both the Hambletonian (with Santa Ana) and the Little Brown Jug (with Freedom Fella). He won 170 races and earned $2.3 million in purses that year – gaudy numbers for the then-33-year-old.
During his career, Goudreau was responsible for the success of such horses as Genghis Khan (p, 1:51.4 $983,467), Try Scotch (p, 1:54.3 $956,770), Tijuana Taxi (p, 1:54.3 $784,306), Apollos Way (p, 1:56 $502,536), Freedom Fella (p, 1:54.4 $491,790), Tender Loving Care (p, 1:52.4 $327,822) and Superman (1:58.1 $140,794).
In his short career he amassed 2,291 wins and $12,942,265 in purse money. At the time of his death he was eighth in the North American driver standings. He was inducted into the Canadian Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 1983.
