According to Rick Plano, two of the most talented performers he’s ever trained will be racing in back-to-back dashes at Cal-Expo on Saturday, May 14.
Pacinello will suit up in the featured second race with his conditioner in the bike, while Shamderock (to be driven by Luke Plano) will look for his seventh straight win in the third race. Both of the pacers are D&E Racing Inc. homebreds.
Pacinello is a five-year-old son of Little Steven that has a slew of stakes trophies on his mantle, $246,945 in the bank and a 1:50.2 mark which was established last year at the Meadowlands. Shamderock is a 3-year-old by Hi Ho Silverheels who is unbeaten in seven stakes gatherings with his peers.
“The only thing they really have in common is that they love to win,” Plano explained when asked to compare the two pacers. “Pacinello has been a handful from the very start, but Shamderock is as docile a horse as you could ever be around.”
Pacinello, who has had his picture taken after 20 of his 58 career starts, is making only his third evening appearance of the year after having last raced in September in New York.
“He won almost $130,000 for us last year and it was a pretty tough campaign, so we decided to give him some time off,” his mentor noted. “He’s getting tighter now, and then at the end of the month we’ll take him back east.”
Shamderock is also scheduled to see some east coast tracks, but first he’ll compete this weekend and then try to make it a clean sweep of the sire stakes for the division next Saturday night (May 21).
“The first series we have him staked to is next month at Tioga Downs, and they go for $12,000 in the first two legs and then a $35,000 final.”
Shamderock, who has been dominating his peers, will be trying a smaller track for the first time when he takes his act to the five-eighths mile Tioga oval.
“He’s extremely good-gaited, so I don’t think he’ll have any problems with the turns,” Plano said.
Plano is also looking forward to debuting a two-year-old trotting filly named Im All In --- a daughter of Revenue S out of Simply Royal --- who is a half-sister to the stakes-winner Thatssomebracciola.
“She’ll make her debut next month at Freehold, and we’ve got high hopes for her,” he said.
(Cal-Expo)