Bob Johnson is sitting pretty coming into Cal-Expo's Saturday, December 18 finale of the Courageous Red Series. He will be sending out elimination winner Oneout Inthe Eigth and Lilys Hi Ho.
Lilys Hi Ho is coming off the richest victory of his career. He upset his peers in last week’s sire stakes championship. The last three tries over a 'fast' track for the pacer have resulted in two wins and a near-miss, while his three sloppy-track outings in between have seen minor awards.
“The forecast isn’t encouraging, but there’s nothing we can do about that,” Johnson said at entry time. “Actually, his race in the Courageous Red elim in the slop was pretty good, and the race before that he made a break because he stepped in a hole. There’s no question he prefers a fast track, though.”
In last week’s championship, Lilys Hi Ho sat a tracking trip for three-quarters; had traffic issues at the top of the lane, then ignited once free and went on to a two and three-quarter-length decision.
“That’s how he wants to race, sit back and explode,” his mentor noted. “It was a great drive by Mooney (driver Lemoyne 'Mooney' Svendsen), and I still don’t know he got out of there.”
What makes all this recent good work from Lilys Hi Ho even more satisfying is the fact that very little was expected of the gelding as recently as this summer.
“He didn’t race at two and we just broke him this year. He was bad-gaited, but I always felt he had some heart, and once we figured things out it started to come together. He just keeps improving.”
No matter how the track comes up this weekend, Johnson feels Oneout Inthe Eigth is going to have a major say in the outcome.
“He’s been very impressive the last couple of weeks, so I think he’s the one to beat.”
After the Saturday card, the trotters and pacers will take a week off before returning to action on Thursday, December 30. There will be a special December 31 New Year’s Eve program at 3:40 p.m. (PST), and a January 1 card to officially welcome in the 2011 season.
Live racing will resume at Cal-Expo on Thursday, December 16 at 5:30 p.m. and will continue through Saturday, December 18. Jess Or No, Alpine Hawk and Rompaway Brandon will headline Thursday evening’s trotting headliner. First-race post time on Friday, December 17 is 6:00 p.m. Approximate first-race post time on Saturday is 5:40 p.m.
On Saturdays, Cal-Expo offers a reduced 15 per cent takeout rate on both the Early and Late Pick-4 wagers, with both Pick-4s now having a $10,000 gross-guaranteed pool.
(With files from Cal-Expo)