We’ll find out Sunday if there is going to be a changing of the guard at the head of the three-year-old trotting class at Cal Expo.
The first sire stakes of the meeting for the division is set, and while Placer was pretty much the dominating sidewheeler when the last added-money races were being decided earlier in the year, at least a couple of serious challengers have emerged in the interim.
Placer is a three-year-old son of Panama Hanover out of the Website mare Charlottes Web that picked up five stakes trophies at the last meet for his owner/breeders Steve and Vickie Desomer, including a lifetime-best 2:00.2 score back in April.
However, Placer is coming into Sunday’s $10,000 contest a bit rusty when compared to main rivals Bank Of Lodi and Ahh Panama. “I’m afraid Placer is the victim of a big heart and a bad gait,” Vickie related when asked about the gelding. “He does keep trying, though.”
Meanwhile, Bank Of Lodi suits up for Sunday’s stakes event having posed for snapshots following three of his last four starts for his owner/breeders Mary Harris and Pierre Girard and new best friend Luke Plano.
“She’s catching up with those other three-year-olds now and the experience is really helping,” Girard explained. “This filly is a natural puller, and even though we’ve tried different types of bits and bridles, that’s just the way she likes it. I can tell you that jogging her is like a visit to the gym.”
Ahh Panama is the only other member of the field with a stakes trophy on her mantle, having taken advantage of a miscue by heavily-favoured Placer in the March 28 get-together for this group. She will make things very interesting if she comes with her best race for Bob Johnson and pilot Steve Wiseman.
(With files from Cal Expo)