by Mark Ratzky, publicity, Cal-Expo

Sacramento, CA — A special Wednesday night (November 26) card at Cal-Expo finds 14 races on the bill, with last week’s 22-1 upsetter False Accusations eyeing an encore while coming back at the same level for Mark Anderson and pilot Jim Lackey in the featured event.

The 4-year-old son of Kent’s On Nuke carries the banner of Anderson and JJJ Stables and is trying to click for the fourth time from 10 appearances on the year. He overcame a mid-race shuffle to rally smartly for the recent surprise that saw him lowering his lifetime standard to 1:55.4 in that affair.

Wednesday night will see the debut of the Super Hi Five Wager, a $1 bet that takes place on the final race. The first five finishers must be selected in exact order, and if there are no winning tickets, there will be a carryover to the next program.

There is also a carryover of $10,821 going into the early Pick-4 (races 2-5) on Wednesday, with the total pool expected to reach $27,500. The early Pick-4 covers races two through five with post time for the second race scheduled at 5:53 p.m. (PST).

Sire Stakes Championships highlight Saturday card

Saturday night’s (November 29) action will find four $25,000 2-year-old Championship events, and several of the divisional leaderships are up for grabs.

Among the pacing colts, Glad To Be Back gets the top billing by virtue of having captured two of the three Sire Stakes. The Jim Wilkinson, Jr. trainee romped home in the initial big-money gathering on October 18 with regular pilot Rich Wojcio, then tired over a sloppy track two weeks later. Glad To Be Back returned to his winning ways in the most recent stakes dance, going coast-to-coast by five lengths in a new mark of 1:54.3.

Looking at the pacing fillies, Silver Bloom has the top ranking at the moment after finishing third in the first stakes and then taking down the last pair in impressive fashion for trainer “Sparky” Clarke and driver Rick Plano. Wayne Knittel’s Hi Ho Silverheel’s homebred came from off the pace for her first trophy, then used front-end tactics to prevail two weeks ago.

Among the trotting colts, Try This dominated proceedings in the first two big-money clashes for Gilbert Herrera, but it was the Bruce Clarke trained-and-driven Credit Score who was able to mind his manners last time and posted a head decision over his arch-rival.

Three different performers have posed for snapshots following the filly trotting contests. It was Firewall who crushed the opposition in the first one, while Dani California was an easy winner in the October 31 second round of stakes action. Most recently, it was George Reider and Maurice Sigmon’s Sheila’s Dream who did the track-and-attack to perfection to land in the circle.

Getting two for the price of one

Team Desomer will be taking two shots at Saturday night’s (November 29) Championship event for the 2-year-old pacing colts with Artless and Holme Invasion representing the barn.

Artless already knows the feeling of taking down a big-money event, having captured the November 1 Sire Stakes prior to finishing third in the most recent added-money clash two weeks ago after going a first-over journey into the victorious Glad To Be Back.

Holme Invasion, like his stablemate, a Power Of Art homebred, earned his graduation papers by 10 lengths before losing his chance in the most recent stakes gathering when he suffered an interference break.

“That last stakes wasn’t a very good one for us,” trainer Vickie Desomer related. “Holme Invasion suffered that interference break when Pacinello went off stride, but he doesn’t seem to be any worse for wear and we’re hoping for a little better luck this time around.”

Artless has clicked in three of his eight trips to the post, with his biggest victory coming in that aforementioned Sire Stakes at the start of the month where he parlayed a pocket trip into a handy score in the slop with Steve Desomer at the controls.

“He had the race pulled out of him in that last stakes, and hopefully a little re-rigging will solve the program,” Vickie said.