Lodi Dorian Blues, who has been knocking heads with Silverlode and Fort Valley AS in his last two starts at Cal Expo, will get some class relief and a cozy rail spot in this Saturday night’s featured trot.
The main event has been carded as Race 5 on the 11-dash program. First post will be at 6:15 p.m. There will also be a pair of California Sire Stakes for four-year-old pacers to be decided as non-betting events prior to the regular card.
Lodi Dorian Blues is an eight-year-old son of New Age Hanover who races for Scott Ehrlich and George McChrystal, hails from the Kathleen Plested barn, and will have Steve Wiseman doing the honours.
The hard-knocking performer recorded his most recent victory on March 3, as he sat a tracking trip into the stretch, and then put in his patented last move to win going away by two and a quarter lengths.
His last two starts have come at the Open level, where he finished fourth behind Silverlode two starts back and then checked in third behind Fort Valley As last week while competing over a ‘sloppy’ track.
In the sire stakes contest for the pacing males, the very talented Allymxsliventexas will look add to another trophy to his mantle. A homebred son of Hi Ho Silverheels, he races for Wayne and Rod Knittel, hails from the Bob Johnson barn and will as usual have Mooney Svendsen giving directions.
He has dominated his sire stakes rival this season, including a sizzling 1:51.4 romp by 11 lengths in the February 4 big money dance for the division. He cruised home by nearly 10 lengths in the most recent sire stakes, and has since added a conditioned victory and a runner-up finish behind the red-hot Barbarian in last week’s Open Pace.
A reminder that 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; and the 20-cent Pick 4, which also features a $30,000-guaranteed pool on Fridays and a $40,000-guaranteed pool on Saturdays and is decided on the penultimate four races on the program.
(With files from Cal Expo)