By Mark Ratzky, publicity – Cal Expo Harness
A $6,700 filly and mare Open
Pace and a pair of $7,000 California Sire Stakes for the 3-year-olds get the
marquee treatment Friday evening at Cal Expo.
Watch and Wager LLC will
present 11 races and first post is 6:10. The Sire Stakes are the first and
fifth events on the evening, while the Distaff Open occupies the sixth-race
slot.
Alwaysalittlemore will look
to get back to the winner’s circle after being disqualified from victory last
weekend for going inside the pylons in the stretch in that clash at the top for
the female pacers.
A 6-year-old daughter of
Always A Virgin, she carries the banner of Maria Alvarez and Terrence Smith
with Edwin Hernandez training and Luke Plano at the helm.
Alwaysalittlemore has posed
for pictures following three of her seven starts this season, including a 1:52
3/5 lifetime best performance, and two of those scores have come at this Open
level.
Looking at the Sire Stakes,
Its Pointless is a standout in the male division after dominating his rivals in
coast-to-coast fashion in the initial stakes dance two weeks ago. The Mark
Anderson homebred is by Kent’s On Nuke, hails from the Gordie Graham barn and
will once again be piloted by James Kennedy.
Prom Queen accounted for the
first distaff Sire Stakes two weeks ago, upsetting favored Debit Or Credit that
night. Prom Queen is a daughter of Little Steven who was bred by Robin Clements
and Desomer Stables Inc., is owned by Clements and has Nick Roland on a return
assignment.
Its Pointless leaves
little doubt
Its Pointless got right to
the point in the first California Sire Stakes of the year for the sophomore
pacing males, motoring directly to the front for James Kennedy and reporting
home with five and three-quarter lengths to spare in a snappy 1:57 4/5 debut.
A Mark Anderson homebred who
hails from the Gordie Graham barn, Its Pointless had showed some promise in his
two qualifiers and this was not lost on the crowd, who bet him down to 1-5 in
what proved to be an overlay.
The son of Kent’s On Nuke was
on cruise control from the very beginning, never having less than a two and
half-length lead once the gate rolled and widened when the field hit the
stretch.
“For this being his first
start, he was very professional,” Kennedy related. “He’s pretty smart and I was
very impressed with his effort.”
Its Pointless is back to work
Friday night in hopes of landing another Sire Stakes trophy on the mantle for
the Anderson/Graham combination.
***
There is a carryover of
$19,269 in 10-cent Single 6 Friday night, with the sequence beginning on the
fifth race.
There are also two wagers
offered here with a reduced 16 percent takeout rate, the 20-cent Pick 5 and
20-cent Pick 4, and the Pick 4 comes with a $40,000 guaranteed gross pool on
Saturdays and $30,000 on Fridays.
