by Mark Ratzky, publicity – Cal Expo Harness

Sacramento, CA — Last Sunday night was a memorable one for Mooney Svendsen as he guided Zoeys Delight to her first Sire Stakes victory, then came back less than an hour later to pick up another stakes score with Avila Beach.

Both fillies hail from the Bob Johnson barn and they were pulling off minor upsets in the process. Zoeys Delight was getting the advantage on powerful stablemate Sandy’s Song for the first time in the trotting event, while Wayne and Rod Knittel’s homebred Avila Beach prevailed in a very contentious pacing affair while returning $15 to her backers.

“Zoeys Delight has been coming around since adding lasix,” Svendsen related. “She just hadn’t been able to get close to Sandy’s Song and wasn’t coming up with that pop. This time I noticed something different around the middle of the last turn, and when I wheeled her out she marched right by.”

Up until this point, it was Sandy’s Song who had hogged the spotlight by prevailing in the first six stakes dances for the division, but last weekend was Zoeys Delight’s turn to shine and earn the barn bragging rights.

Two races later, Mooney was back in the winner’s circle following the Sire Stakes for the sophomore pacing distaffers with Avila Beach, who was winning for the second straight time and recording her fourth win from seven appearances for Team Knittel and Johnson.

“We lucked out and got the best possible trip and she really fired when I asked her,” Svendsen noted. “She showed she was starting to come around the previous week when she won for Steve (Wiseman), and she’s obviously getting much better.”

There will be one more Sire Stakes opportunity for this group next week and then they’ll have to wait until the fall for the California stakes action to start up again. As for Mooney, at the conclusion of this meet in three weeks he’ll be headed home to Minnesota for the trotting and pacing action at Running Aces.