Calzone, who made his first start in seven months a winning one last week, looks to keep the momentum going in tonight's Cal-Expo trotting feature.
Calzone is a five-year-old son of Yankee Glide and the stakes-winning Sacramento mare Ahh Saundra who is owned, trained and was bred by Gordie Graham. Rich Wojcio will be handling the lines once again.
The dark-hued side-wheeler didn’t make it to the races until last season, but has made up for lost time by winning nine of his 18 trips to the post, including a 1:56.4 mark that was established at Cal-Expo on January 7 in an Open Handicap.
Calzone made a break two weeks following that career standard and was given some time. He then made his next appearance in an August 5 matinee event in which he finished a late-closing second to Meringue in what proved to be a perfect prep race.
With that one under his belt, the Graham colour-bearer was ready to rock on roll on last week’s opening-night card. He was unhurried early, looped rivals turning for home and drew off to a length and three-quarters score as the 3-5 public choice.
Set to challenge Calzone, who has the outside slot, are a pair from the George Reider barn in Jam And Jelly and Sheilas Dream; and Meringue and Lodi Cooper, who both take their lessons from Kennedy Lindsey.
It Was Smiles All Around
It only took two races into the current meet for a feel good story to emerge, as Calzone and Wojcio combined for a triumphant return after both were away from the wars since January.
While Calzone’s hiatus was planned, Wojcio’s time off was definitely out of his hands as he was recovering from a concussion, broken left arm and facial injuries that were suffered in a very scary spill.
The first race back for both was storybook fashion, as they came from last to account for the opening-night feature.
“It’s nobody’s fault, but the track was just too hard for him at the beginning of the year,” explained owner/trainer/breeder Graham. “That was a very uncharacteristic break he made in his last race, and his feet were really stinging him. The Yankee Glides have done extremely well, but they do tend to have issues with their feet.
“He stayed here at the track up until the break, and then he went up to Al Anderson’s place and got a nice little vacation with a lot of paddock time. One of the reasons I waited as long as I did to bring him back is because Rich gets along so well with him.”
So while Wojcio was going through therapy and gradually getting back into the shape to add to his 3,600-plus career victories, Graham was taking his time with Calzone and plotting last Friday night’s return to competition.
“Calzone actually relaxes more for Rich than he does for me, so it just seemed right to wait until the meet started up again and then he could drive him. We got a nice prep into him in that matinee and it all worked out perfectly. It was very satisfying to have it be Rich’s first drive back.”
Western Hurricane Blows Into Town
After clicking just once from his first 19 starts this year, Western Hurricane comes into Saturday’s program having posed for pictures in three of his last four trips to the post for trainer Nathalie Tremblay and pilot James Kennedy.
The six-year-old Western Hanover pacer finished up the spring in smart style, and obviously had a nice summer break as he returned with a sharp 1:56 score with Kennedy in his usual off-the-pace fashion.
“I’ve had him for about six months now,” said Nathalie, who conditions the pacer for her mother, Lili. “We bought him from Ohio, where he wasn’t getting around the half-milers and we thought the mile track would help.”
Western Hurricane was just hitting his best stride when the spring session came to end, taking two of his last three, then got the two-month vacation along with the other local trotters and pacers. He got a nice muscle-stretcher in his matinee mile, then blasted home to get the job done last week in the fastest tour of the weekend.
“He’s a good little horse and he spent the summer in my mom’s backyard,” Nathalie explained. “I wasn’t worried about him being fit enough, and James gets along great with him. You just have to sit early and he can really come home.”
While the Tremblay colour-bearer was prevailing over $4,000 types in his return, he’s being bumped up a few levels for Saturday’s assignment in what appears to be much deeper water.
“We’re putting him up in class because he’s fresh and there’s claiming going on,” Nathalie said.
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A reminder that next week will find a return to the regular Thursday-through-Saturday schedule for the trotters and pacers. On the wagering front, there is now a 50-cent Pick 5 offered each night and it begins on the fifth race.
Live racing resumes at Cal-Expo on Friday, August 20 and Saturday, August 21. First-race post time on Friday is at 6:20 p.m. (PDT). First-race post time on Saturday is at 6:10 p.m.
(Cal-Expo)