She wasn't the horse to beat, but had beaten these before and now Zoom Past You has beaten them again
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Filly & Mare Open Handicap pacers, racing for a purse of $6,800, were featured at Cal-Expo on Friday night (January 8) over a track listed as "good," on which Zoom Past You got up in the nick of time.
In advance of starting from her assigned post-two in the field of five, driver Lemoyne Svendsen knew it wouldn't be easy.
"I thought I was third best - - so that's the way I wanted to race her," said Svendsen. "I wanted to try and get away second or third and not cut it with her and see what happened."
Leaving and getting the early lead past the start, Zoom Past You and Svendsen pushed the pace some until yielding after an eighth of a mile to Biggest Big Bertha (Rick Plano). The three-hole, not the pocket, however, was going to be the spot the five year-old was going to end up, as the 3-5 favourite Dont Tempt Me (Luke Plano) was on the move to the quarter-mile pole, timed in :28.4.
"That's exactly what I expected to happen - - so my plans were still in place."
Content of course to sit third through a first-half mile, timed in :58, Svendsen had good reason not to be flushed first-over by Sintillating (Tim Maier) to the five-eighths mile pole.
Sintillating always has trouble in the last turn, so I knew I was okay for the moment."
Making the right move to save ground while down by 3-3/4-lengths at the three-quarter mile marker, timed in 1:27.2, Svendsen knew the route he was going to take in the stretch, as well knowing a good chunk of the purse could be his, but winning was a question mark when Dont Tempt Me opened up by two-lengths to the top of the lane.
"The inside was a little wet and Dont Tempt Me and Biggest Big Bertha were racing a little wide to stay out of there - - so the only place I could go was up the inside. I knew at the top of the stretch I was going to be second, but I didn't know if I could catch Dont Tempt Me."
Moving up the pylons and under a drive, Zoom Past You moved into second with an eighth of a mile, then got closer with a little more than a sixteenth of a mile left to go, but time was ticking away.
"I still didn't think I was going to reach because it looked like Dont Tempt Me had too much on me, plus the track was a little too slick on the inside to get a grab there. But when I started getting even closer to Dont Tempt Me, I let my horse come off the inside a little and it seemed like she found her best footing and just took off."
Closing fast late, Zoom Past You got up in the last stride to win ($11.80) by a nose. Owned by David Brunck in partnership with Roselea Conrad, the Chris Conrad trained mare stopped the timer at 1:55.3. Dont Tempt Me just failed while finishing in second, and Scooter Babe (Steve Wiseman) had late pace to finish in third, another one-length farther back.
"It was a pretty sporty win because I didn't expect it," finished Svendsen.
Live harness racing continues at Cal-Expo on Saturday (January 9) at 5:35 p.m. (PST) and on Sunday (January 10) at 5:40 p.m. On Saturday night at Cal-Expo, it's Dollar Night, on which hot-dogs, beer, soda, and wine will be sold for one dollar.
(Cal-Expo)