Ten-year-old pacing mare Luvinajiffy and her three-year-old son Grand Coolie both celebrated wins on the same race card on November 20. It may not be quite as rare a feat as that, but two full brothers both recorded wins on the same card on November 29.
Last Sunday at Cal Expo was a card to remember for both driver Eddie Hernandez and the Sal Wenceslao-trained Laissezmoipicoler, as they recorded the first wins of their respective careers in the eighth race.
The icing on the cake came 47 minutes later in the nightcap, when Hernandez guided Lasissezmoipicoler’s full brother Laissez Moi Passer to victory, once again posing for pictures with owner/breeders Sal and Georgette Wenceslao.
The Wenceslao performers are by Disco Devil out of the Nirvana mare My Passing Fancy. Laissez Moi Passer, who set his 1:52.2 mark this past summer at Vernon Downs, won for the seventh time this year on November 29, while his younger brother got the job done for the first time after 12 previous attempts.
“I was so happy for Eddie,” said Sal, who noted that he has also had success with Hernandez’s younger brother, William. “I’ve known him for a lot of years and it was special to get two wins the other night with him driving.”
Wenceslao had high hopes for Laissezmoipicoler before he made his debut last year, especially in light of his older brother being an accomplished sire stakes hero. He admits it’s been a work in progress.
“It’s just been a matter of his maturing and putting it all together, which he’s starting to do,” his mentor noted. “I actually took him with me to New York over the summer and qualified him, but after looking at the competition I figured it would too much for him and it was better to let him grow a little.”
Laissezmoipicolor gave an indication of things to come when he set the pace in his November 22 outing, then kept the momentum going in last week’s diploma earner as he made every pole a winning one at 6-1 with two and a half-lengths back to his nearest competitor. Not to be outdone, his older brother countered in the finale.
Main Event Lures At Last, Quality Sport
At Last, who has used his patented late charge to win two of his last three appearances, has received the top billing for Saturday night’s $6,000 Open I Handicap Pace at Cal Expo.
There will be 12 races on tap Saturday and first post will be at 6:15 p.m. The headliner is set to go as the ninth on the evening with a field of seven facing starter Ken Fowler. There will be also be an Open Handicap Trot headed by Jessesjo to be decided as the third contest on the evening.
At Last is a nine-year-old Florida-bred son of Western Ideal who comes into the assignment with $196,000 in his bank account and a 1:52.1 mark. He carries the banner of Mark Anderson, resides in the Gordie Graham barn and will be handled by Mooney Svendsen.
The hard-hitting veteran recorded his first win of the meet when he flew home at 22-1 to capture a conditioned affair on November 14 with Chip Lackey at the controls. After having missed by a neck to Im Real Good at next asking, he returned to his winning ways in the top dance for the pacing set last weekend.
Sent off 3-1 with Svendsen in the sulky, At Last trained the field until the stretch, exploded when the question was asked in the stretch and won going away by a length and a quarter in a 1:54.1 tour.
Quality Sport was his most immediate victim that evening and comes into the feature having posed for pictures following two of his last four outings. Ron and Tammy Wells own the son of Sportsmaster with Steve Wiseman reining and training.
Like At Last, Quality Sport’s victories at this meeting have come from off the pace and at juicy 9-1 and 10-1 odds. He was first over in last week’s try, finished well but could not contain At Last when push came to shove while finishing clear of the rest in another solid mile.
(Cal Expo)
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