by Scott Ehrlich, publicity director, Sacramento Harness Association

Sacramento, CA — He finished with a lot of pace the week before but still had some rugged foes to face on this night, so with some smart piloting, D Jokerman pulled off a slight upset.

Open I pacers, racing for a $9,000 purse, were featured at Cal-Expo on Saturday night (October 6), in which D Jokerman was a solid winner.

Prior to starting from post position three in the field of five, driver Steve Wiseman wasn’t fearful, even if Biggest Big Bertha (Ed Hensley) entered the race on a high powered three-race win streak.

“I liked my horses chances because of the way he raced last week after being off a week,” said Wiseman. “My intentions were to get around JM Lucky Girl (Robley Johnson) at the start, but it didn’t work out that way because Robley left.”

Coming away in third, Wiseman would waste no time as he’d move his charge to the outside at the quarter, timed in a snappy :27.1.

“I still wanted to be in front of JM Lucky Girl, which was the reason for the quarter-move.”

Moving quickly to the lead past the three-eighths-mile pole, did Wiseman use his horse?

“I had to use him a little, yet he still got there pretty easy.”

Reaching the half-mile pole, timed in :55.4, Wiseman’s feelings hadn’t changed from his pre-race thoughts.

“I still liked my chances especially considering I still had a good hold of him, plus he still felt comfortable.”

With the field now on the final turn, Wiseman would take a look back for the favorite at the five-eighths.

“I saw that Biggest Big Bertha (3-10) was first-up, so I let out a notch on my horse knowing that would force Biggest Big Bertha to have to step home a little more to catch us. In the middle of the final turn, I urged my horse on and popped his earplugs when JM Lucky Girl pulled the pocket — which was good, as I knew that would force Biggest Big Bertha to go three deep. When I popped the earplugs, my horse went on and dug in good.”

Tripping the beam at the three-quarter-mile station, timed in 1:24.1, Wiseman was now a bit concerned.

“At that point, I was just hoping we could hold on because I now realized that Frankthebank (Rich Wojcio) was loaded with pace and he was now behind me.”

With the field in the lane, Wiseman, while urging his pacer on, made sure his horse kept a straight course.

“I didn’t want to give Frankthebank any room because I knew he was pretty strong and if he had room he could have marched right on by us. My horse responded to everything I asked him to do and got the job done.”

Owned by Maurice Sigmon, D Jokerman would hold firm to win by three-quarters of a length, in 1:52.2, a lifetime best. Biggest Big Bertha finished in second, and Frankthebank, who never had room up the pylons, was another three-quarters of a length farther back in third.

“Trainer George Reider did a great job in getting him ready for this race, which was certainly one of his better races,” Wiseman concluded.

In an Open 2 & 3 Handicap Pace for a $7,000 purse, Hard On The Heart and Rick Plano never looked back .

Cutting fractions of :27.3, :56.2 and 1:24.2, Hard On The Heart would open up in the stretch to win by 3-3/4 lengths. Leased by Jill Wine and trained by her husband, Tom, Hard On The Heart would pace to a seasonal best time of 1:52.2. Art N Soul (Luke Plano) finished in second, and Exit Hanover (Ed Hensley) finished another 3-3/4 lengths back in third.

Live racing resumes at Cal-Expo on Wednesday (October 10) continuing through Saturday. Post times are scheduled for 5:35 p.m. (PDT). On Wednesday, fans can wager into the $25,000 guaranteed Bal-Cal Pick 4 Challenge. Also on Wednesday, admission is free, plus Cal-Expo offers a complete lasagna dinner, with salad and bread, for just $3.00.