by Mark Ratzky, publicity, Cal-Expo

Sacramento, CA — Four $25,000 Championship events are on tap Saturday night (May 23) at Cal-Expo for the 3-year-old pacers and trotters, with clear-cut leaders in three of the divisions and an interesting battle for the top spot in the other.

While Pacinello and Credit Score are firmly atop the colt pacing and trotting ranks, respectively, and Firewall is the big gun among the trotting fillies, things are a bit up in the air when it comes to the pacing fillies.

Silver Bloom won three of the four stakes clashes last season for owner/breeder Wayne Knittel and Rick Plano and was named division champion, but a major threat has emerged among this group from Haggin Oaks, who has won two of the three added-money events this year.

After romping home in the April 24 Sire Stakes in a sparkling 1:54.4, followed by a conditioned victory versus her elders in 1:54.1, Silver Bloom was 10 cents on the dollar when this group lined up two weeks ago, but she stopped after setting the fractions.

It was Haggin Oaks who came calling when it counted with driver/trainer James Kennedy for her second trophy in a lifetime-best 1:56 tour and now there is a question who occupies the top position among these distaffers. Haggin Oaks carries the banner of Shari Burns, Ferris Funk and Gerald Cimini.

Getting back to the pacing colts, Pacinello has been nothing short of sensational this season for Plano and his owner/breeder D&E Racing Inc. That was an eye-catching 7-1/4 length domination last time and the sizzling 1:51.4 final clocking established a new course standard.

In the trotting ranks, Credit Score and Firewall are both offspring of Website who were last year’s champions and have picked up this year right where they left off in 2008. Jack Coffey owns and bred Firewall outright, while he is in a partnership along with Bruce Clarke, Jack Toth and Heath Knolls Investments that campaigns Credit Score.

A whiskered thing of beauty

It’s quite possible that no horse on the grounds has a bigger rooting section than the 5-year-old pacing mare Mamahaswhiskerstoo. In addition to the Weiner family and trainer Nathalie Tremblay, she has become the mascot for the Marines on the 13th MEU.

After posting five runner-up finishes from her first 11 starts on the season, Mamahaswhiskerstoo finally got over the hump last week as she flew home for regular pilot Steve Wiseman to make the overdue trip to the charmed circle. She suits up again in Thursday night’s (May 21) main event.

Owner/breeder Wendi Wiener, never short on enthusiasm, loves the dark-hued daughter of Distingishedbaron and the Camtastic mare Sanananna, making her a full sister to Cold Affair and Bananafanafoe and the up-and-coming Bewareofthisaffair.

“I was a firm believer that as she matured, we’d see the real Whiskers,” Wendi related. “Nat has brought her along unbelievably, and I’ve had faith in this mare all along, even it others weren’t as sure. Steve knows her better than anyone and drives her 100 percent, and I thank him for that.”

Wendi also points out that this mare is far from a shrinking violet when it comes to attitude.

“She’s certainly not a lovey-dovey type, and it’s going to be on her terms,” she explained. “Nat (Nathalie Tremblay) gets along great with her, though, and that says a lot.”

Her owner also feels the added support group plays into the equation.

“She has her own fan club and a lot of the Marine families watch Whiskers race. It’s great that she has her own cheering section and the support feels good.”

Trying to catch the wind

Holme Invasion knows what it’s like to tug on Superman’s cape, chasing home the mighty Pacinello in stakes competition over the last several weeks. He’ll meet that rival again in Saturday’s (May 23) $25,000 Championship.

A pretty nice prospect in his own right for Team Desomer, Holme Invasion has been reduced to bystander when it comes to the big-money races, as Pacinello has been nothing short of sensational for Rick Plano. The latter put on a tour-de-force last week as he established a new course standard for 3-year-old pacing colts with his 1:51.4 romp.

For the second straight time, Holme Invasion picked up the place money with Etienne Desomer at the helm that evening, but could only watch as his archrival came home with plenty of lengths to spare.

“We think a lot of our horse, but Pacinello makes him look pretty ordinary and the contest is basically for second place,” trainer Vickie Desomer noted. “I actually think we haven’t seen the best of Pacinello yet.”

Holme Invasion is a homebred by Power Of Art out of the New Zealand mare Time For Holme, which makes him a half-brother to Holme Town Girl and Tutiming Gal.

By the way, Rick Plano made quite a statement to Scott Ehrlich following the recent track-record performance by Pacinello.

“He’s an exceptional horse and probably the best horse I’ve ever had,” he said. When you look back at all the top performers who have passed through the Plano barn over the years, that’s quite a statement.

‘King’ readies for another chapter

Challenge The King, the popular 7-year-old trotter who has been sidelined since late February, is back on the track and jogging for trainer Bob Johnson and could return to the wars in a couple of months if everything goes smoothly.

Challenge The King, who carries the banner of Lisa Ehrlich, was at one time the winningest horse in the country this year, having captured six of his first seven appearances, including three straight at the Open level before going to the bench with some serious issues for the third time in his star-crossed career.

The hard-hitting performer, who has twice overcome separate splint bone operations on his left front leg, not only came out of his most recent outing with a tear in his right suspensory, but a saucer-size break in his right rear cannon bone. At the time, the prognosis was that he had a two-thirds chance to make it back to the races, but not until the fall.

In his usual storybook fashion, Challenge The King is back to work ahead of schedule and looking to add more to his fascinating resume.

“The first few days he was back on the track, he was so happy he was up on his hind legs and rearing up,” trainer Johnson reported. “This is one tough horse, and you have to be to come back from everything that he has.”

Lisa’s husband, track announcer Scott Ehrlich, related that the late Dr. Gary Budahn was optimistic when evaluating King’s possible return to the wars at the time of his latest setback.

“He seemed pretty confident given that he had already returned from two operations.”

Budahn also pointed out that Challenge The King’s heart and desire to race would play no small part in his recovery.

“He told me how much he liked this horse,” Scott related, “because he could see that King just loves to race.

“You know, it was two days after Gary’s wonderful memorial service (May 9) that King was scheduled to have an x-ray to see the progress of the healing of the break. The day after the x-ray, Bob called me up and told me that two different doctors had taken a look at the x-ray and couldn’t find the break, as it had healed. In my heart of hearts, I know Gary had something to do with that, not only prior to his passing, but after, given how much he admired King.”

Not only will the Ehrlichs and Johnson be happy to see this trotting warrior get another chance to rack up victories, but it will also be a treat for the many fans he’s amassed over the years.