from Harness Publicists across North America

Thursday’s (April 1) edition of Racing Roundup features a results story from Cal-Expo.

Red Star Ruffles upsets the applecart at Cal-Expo

Conditioned pacers were featured at Cal-Expo on Thursday night, in which Red Star Ruffles clearly outraced her odds.

Appearing to have no chance to win with a quarter of a mile to go, Red Star Ruffles did shift into gear past the three-quarters, then was three-wide into the stretch and four-wide with an eighth of a mile to go.

“I was driving on her in the stretch and around the sixteenth-pole,” said driver Sue Boyce, “because she was still trying. I thought to myself ‘Geesh — I think we can do it.'”

Under a drive and now flying in the last sixteenth of a mile, Boyce sent a verbal message to her mare.

“I hollered at her and she kept to the task and was able to get up.”

Closing fastest of all at the wire, the Mary Murphy owned and Robley Johnson trained mare won ($127.60) by a half-length, in 1:57.4, thus establishing a seasonal mark. The pocket sitting Inconvenient Truth (Rick Plano) finished in second, and Bolero Twister finished one length farther back in third.

“The jam up and the trip twisted everything around that I expected, but she overcame it and raced great,” finished Boyce.

— Scott Ehrlich