Ryan Grundy is off to a good start to the current Cal Expo meet, as he has brought down a solid group of performers from Canada that are proving to be quite photogenic.
If the name ‘Grundy’ sounds familiar, it’s because Ryan is the 35-year-old great nephew of the late Jim Grundy, a mainstay on the Cal Expo circuit for decades and one of the best driver /trainers to every ply their trade in California.
Jim Grundy passed away in 2009 at the age of 74. He made 2,617 trips to the charmed enclosure as a driver, with more than $10.3 million in earnings, and was inducted into the California Hall of Fame in 2007.
“I grew up around the horses,” Ryan related. “I was probably about six years old when I knew this was what I wanted to do.”
It was Jim Grundy’s brother, Art, who was a mentor to Ryan.
“My grandfather is the one who taught me everything. He was very good at bringing young horses to the races and did all his own shoeing, which I also do.”
Ryan started out on his own in his early 20s on the fair circuit in Manitoba.
Scary Harry Heads Contentions Pacing Feature
A well-matched field is set for Friday night’s $4,400 pacing headliner at Cal Expo, as Alan Horowitz Memorial runner-up Scary Harry, the hard-knocking Eastender, and the classy One And Only are among the major players.
There will be 12 races on tap Friday evening under the ‘Watch and Wager LLC’ banner. First post is set for 6:10 p.m. There are another 12 events scheduled for Saturday night.
A good case can be made for almost all of the participants in the main event. Scary Harry is likely to have his share of supporters off of four straight solid miles since coming in from Hoosier Park.
The five-year-old Sportswriter gelding is owned, trained and driven by Chip Lackey and is coming in off of a tough head loss as the 3-2 favourite in last week’s $20,000 ‘Horowitz’ after having cleared late in the mile. In his previous tour, he flew home in :27 flat to prevail in an elimination heat with a 1:53.3 final clocking.
Eastender should be nice and tight after a solid runner-up finish under these conditions after some traffic issues last week. Luke Plano reins and trains the son of Cheyenne Rei for Maryann Plano and Nikki Hudson. He closed out his Running Aces campaign this season with a lifetime-best 1:53.2 tour of the Minnesota oval.
One And Only is the richest member of the cast with his $260,000 bank account and sports a 1:51.2 career standard that was set in Pennsylvania three years ago. The veteran goes about his business for Richard Morita and David Yamada with Jessie Pacheco the conditioner and is making his first evening appearance since late August at Hawthorne.
Completing the field from the rail out: Sapient Hanover with Sean Smithpeters; Senga Nitro for Ryan Grundy; Dupages Z Tam, Nick Roland; Dontdoubtthelakers with James Kennedy; and Swagasaurusrex, who will be guided by trainer Gerry Longo.
There are two wagers offered at Cal Expo each night that come with a reduced 16 per cent takeout rate. They are the 50-cent Pick 5, which is decided on the first five races on the evening, and the 20-cent Pick 4 on the penultimate four races. The Pick 4 comes with a guaranteed gross pool that has now been raised to $30,000.
(Cal Expo)