by Mark Ratzky, publicity, Cal-Expo

Sacramento, CA — Owner KC Carvalho made his second venture to the Blooded Horse Sale in Delaware earlier this month with his trainer Tom Wine and returned with a pair of 3-year-old pacers who figure to make an impression at Cal-Expo.

Carvalho purchased a quartet of performers at the Delaware auction last spring with Wine and was very pleased with the results.

“We bought four horses at that one and they won a total of 28 races this past year,” Carvalho related.

Needless to say, KC was eager to make a return trip to pick up some new performers for his local contingent.

“This time Tom and I purchased a couple of 3-year-old pacers, and we’re looking forward to racing them here at Cal-Expo.”

The Badlanderosa is a son of Badlands Hanover and the Senor Skipper mare Hornby Daisy who is coming off a 6-1/2 length maiden breaker over the half-mile Freehold layout in New Jersey. Crystalcreekclyde is by Western Hero out of the Jate Lobell mare Miss Jate who has been a runner-up in his last two outings and is sitting on his first victory.

“Tom and I make a good team,” Carvalho explained. “He’s an excellent judge of horses and I enjoy researching by watching replays, evaluating current racing form and competitive cross referencing. I find horse auctions fun, exciting and very risky, making it the ultimate gamble.”

Carvalho, as you may recall, did a fine job of moonlighting as the announcer some time back while Scott Ehrlich was away at a family wedding. In an effort to give back to the sport, he donated his salary from those services to enhance some purses for the working-class performers here in a very nice gesture.

They make a special team

When I Look Special and co-owner/driver David Siegel landed in the winner’s circle last week, it was the eighth time from the last 20 teamings they’ve posed for snapshots.

The 7-year-old trotting daughter of Iloooklikemymom carries the banner of Siegel, Robert Thronson and Greg Robinson and is very ably tutored by Lou Pena, who will have the driving assignment Saturday night (May 30).

Siegel guided I Look Special to victory three weeks ago with an off-the-pace surge, then changed tactics for their most recent appearance as he motored her right to the front and led the field on a merry chase with a length and a half to spare at the wire.

“I’ve owned I Look Special in partnership for over two years now and have really enjoyed her,” David said. “She’s a very pretty mare and fits perfectly in Louie’s stable. She’s my all-time favorite horse to drive. She can leave, or race off the pace. She can cut the mile, come first over, or be towed up. While she’s not in the same class with Hitchiker and Claudius Augustus, she’s clearly a competitive ‘second tier’ horse at Cal-Expo.”

I Look Special’s victory last week was her 13th over the past 17 months and her current bank account stands at more than $170,000 with a lifetime mark of 1:56.1 that was established last season.

Marino enjoying Cal-Expo stint

Jim Marino is one of the new members of the local drivers’ room, as he’s on what he describes as a “working vacation” for the next few months. The 29-year-old Vancouver native was the leading pilot at Fraser Downs in 2005 and has been second in the standings to Bill White for the last three seasons.

Marino, who is doing quite a bit of driving since arriving with both his own performers and several for fellow Fraser conditioner Walter Slopianka, relates that he is thoroughly enjoying his stay at Cal-Expo to this point.

“Not only is the weather perfect, but this is a first-class facility where we’ve been treated great by everybody.”

Jim, who has an uncle in the sport, explained that his love of horses developed at a very early age.

“I used to spend my summers at a dude ranch and I loved being around the horses,” he said. “Then there was a point where I became a real student of harness racing and read everything I could get my hands on when it came to the sport.

“I always knew I wanted to be a part of it, but I wasn’t exactly sure what is was I was going to do. I started working on the backstretch when I was a teenager, and then I was very fortunate to be associated with the Jimmy Burke barn.”

It was in January of 1999 that Marino recorded his first victory, and he comes into this week less than 30 victories away from the 1,000-win plateau.

“That first one was pretty special, not just because it was the first, but because it came with a mare named Gleneden Spirit that I had owned myself for quite a few years.”

As far as making his first venture to California, our subject related that the time was right as far as the Fraser schedule was concerned and the fact that Slopianka was also coming down with some performers certainly added to the appeal.

Live racing resumes at Cal-Expo on Friday (May 29) and continues through Sunday (May 31) with a special Sunday night 13-race card headed by an Open Pace featuring Split Ticket. Post time on Friday is at 6:35 p.m. (PDT). Post time on Saturday (May 30) is at 5:50 p.m. Post time on Sunday is scheduled for 5:20 p.m.