Chris Lefebvre is a new face on the scene, as the soon-to-be 31-year-old native of Maine has moved his base to California and plans to make this his new home.
“My wife’s job was relocated close by and we’re here to stay,” Lefebvre related.
Lefebvre is a third-generation harness horseman, with his father, Lonnie, still plying the trade back in Ohio.
“I knew from the very start I wanted to be a harness driver and trainer,” Chris explained. “I won my first race with the very first horse I ever owned when I was 18 at Scarborough Downs.”
When it comes to favourite performers, he is quick to bring up a pacer named Bannach.
“He’s was just a hard-knocking horse, and at one time he held the record for a $2,000 claimer on a five-eighths track when he won in 1:55 flat.”
With the exception of a few five-eighths ovals, Lefebvre has spent the majority of his 12 years in the sulky competing over half-mile tracks and admits he’s had to make an adjustment for this once-around journey at Cal-Expo.
“There is usually so much movement when you’re driving on a half-mile track, but here, there tends to be a lot less and you need to have more patience. It’s something I’m learning.”
Lefebvre is hoping to pick up momentum as a catch-driver while also adding some new faces to the shedrow.
Razor-Sharp Mare
You would be hard-pressed to find more impressive back-to-back victories than those posted by the five-year-old pacing mare Jills Sooter in her last two trips to the post for owner/trainer Robley Johnson and driver Rick Plano.
Jills Sooter romped home by two lengths over her $4,000 claiming rivals to finish up the month of May, then came right back last week to crush the field by a half-dozen while shaving a full second off her career standard with the 1:54 clocking.
“I’ve had her for two months now, but I’ve had my eye on her for a couple of years,” Johnson related. “She’s obviously got a great pedigree, being by Matts Scooter out of a BGs Bunny mare, and she’s shown flashes of brilliance on occasion.”
On the other side of the coin, Johnson explained that Jills Sooter also has a down side.
“She can be pretty nervous and ties up, and she’s also capable of making some pretty drastic breaks every once in a while.”
There have no such troubles in the last two appearances for the mare. On both occasions she’s been able to sit for a quarter, brushes to command on the backside and then leaves her rivals gasping in the stretch.
Robley makes a point to praise Plano’s expertise in the sulky in relation to the last two romping scores by his protégé.
“Rick had driven her last summer, which I remembered, and he deserves a lot of credit for these last two races. He gets her to relax early, which is very important, and then he gets the maximum effort from her.”
Johnson is recovering from some serious injuries suffered in a spill at Cal-Expo last season which have kept him from seeing evening action in the sulky.
“The doctors wanted me to have surgery, but I decided to take the natural way and I don’t want to drive again until I’m 100 per cent,” he noted. “With a guy like Rick out there, I’m in no rush.”
Brother, Sister Put On A Show
Last Friday night (June 4) was a good one to be by Power Or Art out of the Sportsmaster mare Sports Bra, as homebreds The Hot Italian and Inconvenient Truth both made winner’s circle appearances for Chris Schick and Rick Plano.
The Hot Italian is a three-year-old filly who was clicking for the third time in her last four trips to the post, while Inconvenient Truth picked up his fifth snapshot on the season as he worked out a pocket trip and upset heavy favourite Real Suspicion in a 1:55.2 performance.
The Schick colour-bearers are the first to get to the races for Sports Bra, a mare who was claimed for $20,000 back in January of 2003 and made some $62,000 under Plano’s direction before heading to the breeding shed.
“Sports Bra was a tiny mare, but she had lightning speed from the gate and was able to bolt out of there and put herself in a good spot,” Shick related. “She had a 1:52.2 mark before we got her and a lot of talent, but she also had foot problems.
“Inconvenient Truth is a lot like his dam, because he’s on the small side. On the other hand, The Hot Italian has some good size to her. We stopped with her after her maiden win at two last fall, as she was not nominated to the Cal Sire Stakes by accident.
“She trained back real well over the winter. After her qualifier, she developed some unusual swelling in her glands. Her first couple of starts back were disappointing, but she is on the improve and will get tested now. Her size, gait, and attitude are all very good. We just don’t know yet if she has any quality. We are taking her back to New York after the meet, so we’ll see what happens.”
For the next three matings, Sports Bra has been sent to Indiana sires while retaining her home on the Desomer ranch. She has a two-year-old by Electric Yankee, a yearling by Arts Chip and a weanling by Red River Hanover.
“We turned the Electric Yankee filly out,” Schick informed. “She will start back in the fall. She has ability and we could have gone on with her, but we felt she needed to grow into her big frame. We’re certainly looking forward to getting her to the races.”
Live racing resumes at Cal-Expo on Thursday, June 10 and continues through Saturday, June 12. First-race post-time on Thursday is at 6:10 p.m. (PDT) and on Friday, June 11 at 6:20 p.m. First-race post-time on Saturday is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
(Cal-Expo)