By Mark Ratzky, publicity – Cal Expo Harness
A $15,000 California Sire
Stakes for the 3-year-old pacing males and a $7,400 Open Trot featuring
Mandeville, Pridecrest and Silverhill Volo will be front and center at Cal Expo
Sunday evening.
There will be 13 races
presented under the Watch and Wager LLC banner with first post set for 4:50
p.m.
Lodi Phillip looms large in
the stakes clash. He is a homebred son of Another Mile who goes about his
business for Mary Harris and Pierre Girard, is conditioned by Greig Watson and
has Luke Plano at the controls from the middle of the seven-horse cast.
Sent off the even-money
choice in the first stakes gathering for this group on February 21, he had
serious traffic trouble along the rail through the stretch and lost his chance.
With Plano guiding in the most recent big-money event two weeks ago, he went
right to the front and made every pole a winner with a length and a half to
spare at the wire.
Believe In Dragons had to be
happy with a second-place finish that night after prevailing the first Sire
Stakes with a game performance. He is a is a son of Custard The Dragon who
races for Lorne Duffield and Rodney Hennessey, takes his lessons from Quentin
Schneider and will once again have the services of Cordarius Stewart.
After getting a nice prep in
a qualifier on February 14, Believe In Dragons made his seasonal debut a week
later in the first stakes clash of the year for this group. He was dispatched
as the 8-5 second choice while doing his work from the rail slot.
Stewart sat a chilly third
with Believe In Dragons through the early stages, then came first-over to press
the issue and dug in gamely through the drive to prevail by a head over a
fast-closing Im A Magic Man.
The latter is a Mystician
homebred who carries the banner of Richard Schneider, hails from the Ariel
Alvarez barn and has Jake Cutting back in the sulky. He got going late from the
middle of the track to just miss in his debut. Rounding out the field are Chase
The Gold, Arnie’s Army, Allthundadownunda and SD Watch Me Now.
Pancetta on the verge
of a milestone
With his victory last
weekend, the 12-year-old pacer Pancetta is just shy of reaching the $500,000
plateau, earned by winning 39 of his 175 starts with a 1:51 1/5 mark that was
established at Pocono Downs.
“He’s like the little engine
that could,” related Richard Morita, who co-owns Pancetta with longtime racing
partner David Yamada. The veteran is conditioned by Jessie Pacheco and was
guided by Luke Plano.
“If you look at him, he’s so
small you would never think he’d be the warrior racehorse he’s been,” Morita
continued. “Dave and I bought him late in his 3-year-old year, hoping to have a
nice horse and he’s far exceeded our expectations.”
Among Pancetta’s
accomplishments are a victory in the Sagamore Series at Yonkers as well as
multiple Open victories over that half-mile New York oval.
“He’s always been best on a
small track because he can pace around the turns as fast as on the straights,”
David noted.
“The tough racing has taken a
bit of a toll on him physically, but he has such a big heart. He keeps bouncing
back because he loves the racing and we’ve really enjoyed the ride.”
Yamada did note, however,
that Pancetta’s racing days may be coming to an end, with a new career on the
horizon.
“We hope to be able to stand
him as a stud in California, producing future Pancetta’s to thrill the crowd.
His sire No Pan Intended is a half-brother to Bettor’s Delight, so we think he
has a future in the breeding shed.”
