by Mark Ratzky, publicity, Cal-Expo

Sacramento, CA — Grandpa Stevie is one of those old pros that love their job, and the 8-year-old son of Little Steven showed it once again with his second straight victory last weekend at Cal Expo with co-owner Dave Siegel in the sulky.

It was the 31st snapshot from 179 appearances for Grandpa Stevie, who has another 28 seconds and 31 thirds with $124,000 in the bank. He established his career standard of 1:52.2 here two years ago.

“Grandpa Stevie is an absolute Cadillac of a horse,” said Siegel, who owns the Matias Ruiz trainee along with Greg Robinson and Robert Thronson. “He is very versatile in that he can leave, race from behind, or be first up. He’s two fingers to drive and does everything right.”

What really impresses Siegel about this dark-hued veteran is his excellent work ethic.

“He gives 100 percent every race and is a total delight to be behind. Matias has done a wonderful job with him and unless I screw the drive up, he’s in the mix every week.”

Grandpa Stevie definitely comes to play week-in and week-out, and as a result has his share of fans. He’ll likely have plenty of backers when he sets sights on a hat trick.

This weekend will find the kick-off of two series events, with the Kaycees Doll set for Friday (Dec. 3) and the Courageous Red opening leg on Saturday (Dec. 4). The finales for these races will be decided two weeks later.

Live racing resumes at Cal Expo on Thursday (Dec. 2) and continues through Saturday (Dec. 4). Approximate post time is 5:40 p.m. (PST).