Her trainer thought she needed the start, but a perfect trip and being a quality mare provided a different outcome

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Winners-Over pacers, racing for a $4,500 purse, were featured at Cal Expo on Saturday night (September 10), on which Haggin Oaks was clearly the pocket-rocket.

In advance of starting from post-two in the field of six while not having raced under the lights since a June 18 1:53.2 triumph, trainer James Kennedy thought differently than most of the qualifying tightener of his charge.

"Even though she won her qualifier, I actually thought it was sub-par for her," stated Kennedy. "So based off of that, my plan in this race was just to get a trip and go around the track."

Leaving some with no one else leaving, Haggin Oaks found herself in the pocket when Got The Giggles (Luke Plano) accelerated from the pole into a deliberate opening quarter of :29.4.

"I was hoping Luke would speed up because I thought I would have a better chance if he went faster because if we went slow, the rest of the horses would be sprinting home and my mare wasn't ready for that."

Getting his wish with a :28.3 second-quarter, Kennedy and his five year-old were right there at the half-mile juncture, timed in :58.2.

"I was just trying to keep her up on the bit and keep her pinned on Luke's helmet."

Under minor tap urging at times in the third-quarter while Plano had a very good hold of his ten year-old in a :28 third split, Haggin Oaks gave a signal to her pilot with a quarter of a mile to go.

"She was impressing me now because she was feeling real strong and I was actually feeling a little confident at that point."

On the move just to the top of the stretch while Got The Giggles went on into the lane, it sure looked like there could be a battle of the only two ladies in the race. That duel, however, was for naught as Haggin Oaks, in the blink of an eye, quickly took over the lead at the seven-eighths mile pole.

"I was in shock that she went right by as I didn't expect her to race that well. From that point on I got after her and she continued to be very good through the wire."

Responding nicely to urging, the 9-5 morning-line second choice drew away nicely to win ($14.20) by four-lengths. Owned by Shari Burns, Ferris Funk & Gerald Cimini, the daughter of Hi Ho Silverheel's stopped the timer at 1:55.3. Got The Giggles finished in second, and Stanza (Steve Wiseman) finished in third, another 1-1/4 lengths farther back.

"She's a nice horse that does everything I ask of her. I've said this before, it's a privilege to have her in my barn," finished a proud Kennedy.

On the 15-race program, driver Steve Wiseman had five wins, while Luke Plano had four.

Live harness racing resumes at Cal Expo on Friday (September 16) & Saturday (September 17) at 6:00 p.m. (PDT).

(Cal-Expo)