After a string a fine efforts, OGs Si Bon finally got through the door she had been knocking on.
Conditioned claimers were featured at Cal-Expo on Thursday, March 25, and when OGs Si Bon got on the track, she never looked back.
Leaving, but while parked-out, driver James Kennedy accelerated his mare to the first-turn before getting the lead well after an eighth of a mile. The quarter flashed up in :28.4.
"I actually thought I used her a lot because I lagged leaving," Kennedy explained. "So when I decided to leave, I had to get on her pretty good and used her to sprint to get to the front. It concerned me a little bit because she was scooting along with very good speed and I thought I used her a little too much to get there because I think she paced the second sixteenth in the first quarter in probably six seconds."
Giving his mare a :31.2 second-quarter breather, Kennedy was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
"When I saw the timer pop up at the half at :59.4, I pretty much felt I had regained what little bit of stamina I thought I had used in that first-quarter."
Meeting up with a fast moving Serengeti Sunset (driven by Steve Hyman) at the five-eighths mile marker, Kennedy, at the three-quarter mile station, timed in 1:29.2, was calm and cool despite the pressure.
"I was sitting very chilly and hadn't really pushed her since the (first) quarter, plus I hadn't popped the earplugs at that point. I was just sitting along for the ride and thought my chances were very good."
Only on top by less than a length as the field entered the lane, Kennedy felt it was necessary to ask for more speed.
"It was a pretty good drive by Steve Hyman to try and get me by surprise with Serengeti Sunset and they got pretty close, so I popped the earplugs around the seven-eighths mile pole and she responded perfectly. From that point on Serengeti Sunset wasn't going to go by me."
Under minor urging until mid-stretch, then not urged the rest of the way, the four-year-old held firm to win ($3.80) easier than the half-length winning margin would indicate. Owned by Raymond O'Neill in partnership with trainer Matius Ruiz, OGs Si Bon stopped the timer at 1:58.1, a lifetime best. Serengeti Sunset was a good second, and Mighty Fine Hi Ho (John Chappell) finished just a half-length farther back, in third.
"It was a pretty easy class and she was kind of the best in there and had been in there for a while, but it was still a pretty good race," Kennedy concluded.
Live racing continues at Cal-Expo on Friday, March 26 at 5:35 p.m. (PDT) and on Saturday, March 27 at 5:55 p.m.
(Cal-Expo)