By Mark Ratzky, publicity – Cal Expo
Chase The Gold, who has
recorded six straight wins at the meet; and the invading Alilthundadownunda, a
winner of 17 of 23 starts last year, head the cast in Sunday night’s $20,000
California Sire Stakes for the 4-year-old pacing colts at Cal Expo.
The headliner is scheduled as
the sixth event on a 12-race Watch and Wager LLC card gets underway at 5 p.m.
Chase The Gold is a son of
Mystery Chase who carries the banner of Qks Racing, is conditioned by Quentin
Schneider and will have James Kennedy handling the lines.
The ultra-sharp pacer
accounted for the Donald Arnstine Final on December 3 for his second win during
this streak, then made it a half-dozen in a row last week when he proved a
punctual favorite in the Steve Wiseman Final in a powerful performance.
In the process, he
established a new lifetime mark with the 1:52 4/5 clocking while showing the
way home with two and three-quarter lengths to spare.
Alilthundadownunda is the
wild card in the line-up for Set The Pace Racing LLC and driver/trainer Nick
Roland as he makes his first start since early October after having an
outstanding 3-year-old campaign in his native Minnesota.
Taking them on this weekend
are Believe In Dragons, a second Schneider trainee; SD Watch Me Now, who gives
Roland two looks at the outcome; the Bob Johnson-trained Arnie’s Army and
Cenalta Firedragon from the Gordon Empey barn.
California Sire Stakes
action in full swing
This week marks the return of
a remodeled $385,000 Sire Stakes program that will feature a total of 20 events
for the 3 and 4-year-old pacers
Under legislation that was
passed in 2017, eligible horses can now come from California, Minnesota,
Michigan, Alberta, Wisconsin, Iowa and Maine
There will be a total of four
$20,000 contests for the 4-year-old fillies and a like number of $20,000 events
for the 4-year-old males, with $50,000 finals for both divisions set for the
week of April 15.
Meanwhile, on February 18 the
3-year-olds will get their initial Sire Stakes opportunity. The first round of
events for those pacing colts and fillies will be worth $7,500 and will be
followed by four $15,000 contests for each of those divisions.
***
A reminder there are three
wagers offered here each night that come with a reduced 16 percent takeout
rate.
They are the 20-cent early
and late Pick 5 and the 20-cent Pick 4, with the latter featuring a
$30,000-guaranteed gross pool on Fridays and a $20,000 guarantee on Sundays.
To give you some ideal of the
value added, check out last Friday night’s late Pick 5 that saw wins by 4-5
shot Go With Flo, the 1-2 Hi Ho’s Little Rev and 7-5 Gorgeous For Real, but
still returned a nifty $550 for each correct 20-cent ticket thanks in part to
that reduced takeout rate.
