Did two weeks off and the outside post hurt Albion? Definitely not!
Winners Over pacers, in a quest for a purse of $5,600, were featured at Cal Expo on a windy Saturday night (May 5), on which Albion won his sixth in the last seven. In advance of starting from his assigned post eight in the field of seven (post one was scratched), driver Luke Plano knew what the main issue was.
"Obviously I thought my chances were good mainly because the horse had been extremely sharp in all recent efforts, but the post was my biggest concern," stated Plano. "As far as strategy, I was inclined to make a gate decision."
With the field sent on their way, Plano left alertly with his charge and had good reason.
"In Cowboy Hanover's qualifier [with Rich Wojcio driving], he seemed a bit overly aggressive in the beginning. If he was going to be the same way I didn't want to have to deal with him. As it turned out he seemed completely under control at the gate, so I opted to fire out and see what happened."
Racing three-wide and leading as the field entered the first turn, Plano started crossing over a bit, but One And Only spilt rivals, thus Plano had his pacer three-wide again and taking a hold.
"At the eighth pole, it seemed like Haggin Oaks and James Kennedy, and One And Only and Jim Lackey both seemed to accelerate quite a bit. So since I saw a big three-hole -- it was my best option to take it."
Tucking in after 3/16ths of a mile into a :27.3 opening quarter, did Plano use his six year-old?
"I did use him because it was a solid quarter, but I still thought he could handle it."
With the second quarter pace into a good headwind resulting in a :30.4 split, Plano was appreciative.
"Lackey was giving his horse a break, but he was also giving my horse a break and I thought that helped me. As a result of the pace being slow, I elected to stay where I was and give my horse a breather as opposed to moving to the front."
Flushed first over past the five-eighths mile station, Plano had his gelding gaining quickly at the midway point of the final turn, then drew even with momentum at the three-quarter mile pole, timed in 1:28.1.
"When I moved him he felt really strong and was making up ground effortlessly."
Taking a half-length parked out lead very late in the final turn, a pretty confident Plano knew why things looked pretty good.
"I thought the second quarter breather was key to him being hard to handle. Once I had One And Only headed, I knew he wasn't my main concern, but I didn't know how much pace horses behind me."
Drawing clear into the lane and under urging, Albion led by two lengths with an eighth of a mile to go, then opened up the rest of the way while under a drive until the last sixteenth of a mile, all while pacing a wind-aided :26.1 final quarter.
"Once he forged into the lead, he was extremely powerful and paced strongly right down to the wire."
Owned by Dan Tullio and James Mascola in partnership with trainer Matias Ruiz, Albion won ($3.60) by three and three-quarter lengths in 1:54.2, thus recording his 26th career victory. Haggin Oaks, the lone lady in the race, finished in second, and Ivegotwhatuneed (Lemoyne Svendsen) finished a half of one length farther back in third.
"It was a very sharp effort off a week and Matias did a very good job of having him in top form," finished Plano.
(Cal Expo)