Quentin Schneider has secured his first Cal Expo training title and Nick Roland has done a repeat performance as the leading driver heading into the final weekend of the Cal Expo meet.
Schneider sent out many top performers at this stand, including Chase The Gold, who during the course of a nine-race winning streak captured a trio of California Sire Stakes with James Kennedy guiding for Qks Racing.
It was the Roland-reined and trained Alilthundadownunda who snapped that rival’s winning skein and ended up taking down the last two Sire Stakes clashes for the four-year-old pacing males, including the $50,000 final two weeks ago for Set The Pace Racing LLC.
A Major Omen Headlines Closing Weekend's Open
A Major Omen, fresh from a sparkling victory in last week’s Lloyd Arnold Pace, heads the cast in Friday night’s $6,500 Open Pace while his stablemates Rockin With Lou and Kiss On The Lips figure to get plenty of attention in the co-featured $6,500 Filly and Mare Open Pace.
Watch and Wager LLC will present eight races with first post set for 6:45 p.m.
A Major Omen is a six-year-old son of Art Major who is owned and trained by Gerry Longo and will have Mooney Svendsen driving. He comes into this assignment having won four of his last five starts with nearly $213,000 in his bank account and a 1:49.2 mark that was established two years ago at the Meadowlands.
Sent off the 2-5 choice in last week’s Arnold Pace with Nick Roland at the helm, A Major Omen left sharply to command and was then covered up by Dancin Lance at the half. He followed that one to the drive, ignited when it counted and prevailed in 1:51.1 by three-quarters of a length.
Dancin Lance is also having an excellent meet with six snapshots from his 14 appearances on the year, including a lifetime-best 1:51.1 performance while capturing the March 18 Open. The Always A Virgin gelding is owned by Juan Pacheco, takes his lessons from Leon Smith and will have Cordarius Stewart in the sulky. He put in a huge mile from the outside post in the Arnold but could not quite match A Major Omen when push came to shove.
Completing the field are a pair from the Luke Plano barn in He Grins Again and Bombay Hanover and the Jose Castillo-trained Always Close.
The Pick 6 carryover going into Friday’s program is $3,378 and Cal Expo is going to guarantee a $12,500 gross pool. The Pick 6 is a 20-cent wager that will begin on the third race Friday evening.
Sunday being closing night of the meet, there will be mandatory payouts in all wagers.
Looking ahead to that Sunday program, Pridecrest and Mandeville will get one last chance to settle their score at this meeting when they do battle in the Pierre Girard Memorial Trot.
(With files from Cal Expo)