More Sire Stakes Action This
Weekend At Cal-Expo Thursday, May 8, 2008
- by Mark Ratzky, Publicity Dept., Cal-Expo
The third round of Sire Stakes for the 3-year-olds trotters
and pacers will take place this weekend at Cal-Expo, with
the fillies doing battle on Friday night (May 9), while the
colts hold the Saturday night (May 10) spotlight.
Smooth Jazz is certainly the star attraction among the
trotting fillies, as Tim and Denise Maier’s performer has
made a clean sweep of the six stakes races for her division
and is perfect in eight overall trips to the post.
The homebred daughter of Tulane is actually bred on both
sides for pacing, but has excelled on the trot.
The bay miss crushed her rivals by 11 lengths in the first
big money of this season on April 11, establishing a new
mark of 2:00.4 in the process. She then came back in the
most recent Sire Stakes gathering to waltz home with five
lengths to spare as the prohibitive 1-9 favorite with Tim in
the sulky.
Among the colt trotters, Stars and Sites won two of the four
stakes last season and has a win and a second in the two
added-money contests that have been decided this year. Jack
Coffey and Traci Camilli’s Website colt proved
three-quarters of a length best over arch-rival Meringue
with Bruce Clarke in the bike in that last rich dance two
weeks ago and the 1:59.4 clocking shaved three-ticks off his
career standard.
Meringue was impressive capturing the initial stakes of 2008
for owner Dawn Evango and conditioner Hans Rynningen, and
was a game runner-up in that last stakes. He returned with a
sparkling conditioned victory last week in a race where
Stars and Sites was used up on the lead while parked.
The Rick Plano barn dominates the 3-year-old pacing colts
with Star Time Kid and Themaninthewindow representing the
shedrow. The former is six-for-seven this season for
owner/breeders Alan Kirschenbaum and Sheldon Perry and has
accounted for both of the year’s Sire Stakes, while
Themaninthewindow took three of the four big dances last
year and has been an unlucky runner-up behind his barn-mate
in the last pair.
Plano is also strong in the filly pacing ranks with My
Fanny. This gal swept the four Sire Stakes at 2, was second
behind upsetter Wooski in the first stakes this year, then
got her revenge two weeks ago when she prevailed out of the
pocket as the odds-on choice with Luke Plano at the helm.
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Thursday night’s feature at Cal-Expo is a $6,300 contest
that matches high-priced claiming pacers. Mac Jonathan VP is
fresh from a coast-to-coast victory for trainer Lou Pena at
this same level and will try for his seventh snapshot of the
year. He goes about his business for the partnership of Dave
Siegel, Bob Thronson, Greg Robinson and Richard Michael and
is closing in on the $100,000 earnings plateau. Taking him
on are Blissful Winds, Clambake, Machine Maker, RD Khaki and
Top Topper.
Meringue Is Hitting His Best Stride
Sometimes you approach a driver for an interview and aren’t
sure what they’re going to say, and other times you can
pretty much guess the response.
The latter was certainly the case when Luke Plano was asked
about the most recent mile by the sophomore trotter
Meringue, who trounced his rivals by almost five lengths and
shaved a second and two-ticks off his mark with the 1:58
flat tour.
“I was awfully happy with his race, he really stepped it
up,” related Plano, who guides the Dawn Evango color-bearer
for trainer Hans Rynningen. “He’s handy enough now that you
can pretty much do anything you want with him.”
Meringue is currently locked in a battle for division
leadership with Stars and Sites. The young trotters have
split the two Sire Stakes decided this season, with Meringue
drawing first blood and Stars and Sites getting the nod two
weeks ago. They go at it once again on Saturday night (May
10).
“It does look like these two are much best of this group,”
Luke said. “That last stakes race, I think I should have
made Stars and Sites work a little harder when he came out
to retake on the backside. Both horses came home in :28, but
he had a length on us into the stretch and that was the
difference.
“I’m hoping that we draw inside him again, because that
gives us the tactical advantage of being in control of what
happens early. They’re both real nice trotters, and it
should be another good race," Plano finished.
Live racing will resume at Cal-Expo on Thursday (May 8) and
continue through Saturday (May 10). Post-time on Thursday is
at 6:15 p.m. (PDT). Post-time on Friday is at 6:25 p.m.
(PDT). Post-time on Saturday is scheduled for 5:35 p.m.
(PDT). On Thursday, Cal-Expo offers a complete Lasagna
dinner, which includes salad and bread, for just $3.00.
