Divisional finalist Divine Art will be in action during O'Brien Awards weekend as she takes aim at extending harness racing's longest active win streak to 16.
Divine Art will headline the $12,500 DHA Fillies & Mares Open Pace, the seventh race, at Cal Expo on Sunday. First post is 4:55 p.m. (PST).
The Fillies & Mares FFA will find Divine Art seeking her 16th straight victory. The Alberta-sired Outrageous Art distaffer rattled off a dozen wins in a row in her native Canada before venturing down for her new owner/driver/trainer Gerry Longo and has added three more snapshots to her resume.
Moving up to the Open ranks for her most recent tour, Divine Art left to the top for Longo, was covered up on the backside, then had the needed response when room developed along the rail at midstretch to come through for a three-quarters of a length decision.
The $15,500 Steve Wiseman Memorial, carded as race six, will share the spotlight on Sunday's program. Unfiltered looks like the one to beat in the Wiseman after accounting for five of his seven appearances at this meet, including a sharp coast-to-coast score last week for trainer Quentin Schneider and pilot James Kennedy.
But first, Silverhill Volo and Priderest, who have accounted for the last two clashes at the head of the class, will get another chance to settle the score in Friday night’s featured $8,800 Open Trot. The Watch and Wager LLC program has a first post set for 6:45 p.m. and the main event goes as the fourth event on the card.
Next week, the trotters and pacers will be in action on Friday and Saturday night, with no racing on Super Bowl Sunday.
Alexia Kehl making most of California invasion
Trainer Alexia Kehl is making a nice impression in her first season at Cal Expo, including a training double on last Sunday night’s card with the four-year-old pacing mare Bekkums Fancy Star and the seven-year-old trotting gelding Dylan The Great.
Both were handled by Brad Irvine, with Bekkums Fancy Star picking up her third snapshot at this meet while Dylan The Great accounted for the featured trot on the program while making his second appearance since coming in from Pocono Downs.
Bekkums Fancy Star started off the meet with a pair of scores in handy fashion, added a second in the Funicello/Holt final and then returned to her winning ways last weekend with a bold late move.
Dylan The Great was ready for his best work a bit later on the program in the trotting headliner after facing the best in the grounds the previous week in the Open while making his first start since mid-November.
Irvine stalked early with the son of Break The Bank K, came first-over to wrest command from favoured Rock Party and continued strongly the length of the drive to hold safe over the hard-knocking veteran Mandeville.
Kehl, a 32-year-old Wisconsin native, has always had a love of horses but it was only about 14 years ago that she found herself in the world of horse racing while working as a groom for Dave Magee at the then new Running Aces in Minnesota.
She hung her own shingle beginning in 2011 and has steadily built a nice reputation, including conditioning fan favourite Goody Two Shoes and seeing her first Minnesota-bred two-year-old trotter earn championship honours.
(With files from Cal Expo)