by Mark Ratzky, publicity, Cal Expo Harness

Sacramento, CA — When it comes to the 6-year-old trotter Silence Son, you don’t know if you’re going to get Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde until the gate has rolled.

The George Reider trainee has rattled off two solid wins at the Open II level this month at Cal Expo, including a lifetime best 1:55 tour on April 4, but surrounding those scores are a pair of efforts where he failed to be on stride at the start and lost his chance.

Williams Hernandez was guiding Silence Son for the first time in last week’s outing and no doubt Reider and the trotter’s backers were holding their breath when starter Kenny Fowler gave the marching orders. The trotter shot right to the top, carved out all the fractions and held safe by a neck while rewarding the faithful with an $11.80 payoff.

“I’ve been very impressed with his last two wins,” Reider related. “Williams did a great job last week. I told him how temperamental the horse was, we did discuss some strategies and he figured him out.”

As one might guess, conditioning a trotter like Silence Son can test one’s patience, but performances like last week make it all worth the effort.

“He’s not that easy to train by any means, but when he minds his manners he is a fun horse to watch. That said, it’s always week to week. I can say that David and Rob Haness and their father Robert really enjoy watching him race.”

Reider gives plenty of credit to assistant trainer Kimberly Hines, and the three of them will soon be headed to Minnesota and Running Aces, which is where George claimed Silence Son for $7,500 last year.

“Our expectations are high, because we know he likes that oval,” his trainer added.

In the meantime, Silence Son has one more local assignment on tap here Saturday night, and it will be interesting to see if he’s on his best behavior when the car hits top speed.

Silence Son and Winsom Kelly, fresh from a one-two finish last week, head the cast for the Open I Handicap Trot, while Rag Doll will attempt to overcome the demanding No. 10 slot in the co-featured Open II Filly and Mare Pace at Cal Expo Saturday evening.

This is the next-to-last night of the Watch and Wager LLC winter/spring session, with a 10-race card on tap and a first post of 6:55 p.m. The curtain will fall on Sunday with first post for that nine-race card set for 5 p.m.

Silence Son is a 6-year-old Ohio-bred son of Majestic Son who is owned and trained by George Reider and will have Williams Hernandez doing the honors. He comes into this assignment having captured two of his last four outings.

A reminder that with Sunday being closing night of the winter/spring meet, there will be mandatory payouts in all wagers on that program.