by Mark Ratzky, publicity department, Sacramento Harness Association

Sacramento, CA — On Wednesday night (October 3) at Cal-Expo, conditioned trotters, racing for a $4,100 purse, were featured, in which Jess Or No closed to win.

Leaving from post position four in the field of eight, trainer/driver Ed Hensley dropped his charge into the four hole midway through the first turn as the field reached the opening quarter in :29.2.

Remaining in fourth position at the half-mile pole, timed in :59.1, Hensley would pull the gelding first-over past the half. Getting second-over cover past the 9-16th-mile marker, Jess Or No would continue to race in fourth, but was now just 3-1/4 lengths off at the three-quarter-mile station, timed in 1:29.1.

Moving three-wide with less than 3-16ths of a mile to go, Jess Or No would brush into the lead with a little more than a sixteenth of a mile to go before holding off the late close of I Look Special (Gilbert Herrera).

Owned by Jessica Hensley, Jess Or No would score by a half-length in 1:59.1. I Look Special finished in second and Photo Delight (Lemoyne Svendsen) finished another length back in third.

Reno Rose attempting curtain call

Reno Rose, who returned from a vacation with a game victory last week, gets the top billing in Thursday’s (October 4) main event at Cal-Expo. The $4,400 affair is designed for pacing fillies and mares and a field of six will greet the starter.

Among those lining up against Reno Rose are I Need A Miracle, Autumn Tides and Holme Town Girl, who were right there in a blanket finish with her in that comeback effort. Oh My Sidney and New York Doll N complete the line-up.

Reno Rose is a 3-year-old homebred daughter of Givemewhatineed out of the outstanding New Zealand racemare and producer Stand By N. She races for Bob and Loretta Staats, takes her lessons from Bob Johnson, and will once again have Luke Plano at the helm.

The bay miss captured two of her first 11 appearances this year, including a 1:54.4 career-best score on June 6, then went to the sidelines at the end of the month.

Johnson brought Reno Rose back for a couple of very smart qualifiers on September 13 and 21, then she suited up for night action a week ago and proved more than up to the task. Unhurried early, she rallied off cover to the drive and came home in :28 flat to hang a nose on I Need A Miracle.

The latter is another 3-year-old by Givemewhatineed who hails from the Jim Wilkinson, Jr. stable. Racing for the partnership of Graziano, Rosenberg, Schwartz and JW Standardbreds, she has won six of her 17 lifetime tries and has an excellent 1:53 lifetime mark.

I Need A Miracle carved out most of the fractions last time and held a clear lead at mid-stretch, but was not quite able to hold off the closing charge of Reno Rose. Autumn Tides and Holme Town Girl rounded out the superfecta with only three-quarters of a length separating the quartet.

Autumn Tides carries the hopes of Gregg Pistochini and is making her second appearance for trainer/driver Gilbert Herrera since coming in from Indiana. She should be nice and tight now and could easily turn the tables with the local mile under her belt.

Holme Town Girl was the 8-5 choice in that last outing, but found herself with a little too much to make up in the lane while coming a sharp last quarter. She was a 1:54 victress with softer types in August and goes about her business for Desomer Stables, with Vickie Desomer the trainer and Etienne Desomer at the controls.

The gift that keeps on giving

Last Friday night was a good one for the broodmare My Humbug, who saw both of her daughters get their pictures taken.

My Fanny remained unbeaten and picked up her third stakes trophy early on the card, while older sis My Mighty Nightie recorded the 28th victory of her career from 99 starts to close out the program and pushed her bank account over the $130,000 mark in the process.

Both hail from the Rick Plano stable and in this case, it’s a real family affair. Rick’s wife Mary Ann owns My Fanny with son Luke handling the lines of late, while daughter Erica holds the papers for My Mighty Nightie where Rick is the pilot.

As far as My Humbug is concerned, she is the gift that keeps on giving.

“I claimed her for $5,000 and she did pretty well for us,” Rick said. “She ended up racing at the top levels, had a 1:53.1 mark, and even beat the boys. Now she’s given us a couple of real nice fillies.”

Team Plano has had a strong say in the Sires Stakes for the 2-year-old pacers to this point, sweeping the aforementioned filly division and winning two out of three for the colts with Themaninthewindow.

And what about those names?

“I don’t know where my wife came up with the name My Fanny for the filly, but I know where she got Themaninthewindow,” Rick related. “One night when she was getting undressed in our bedroom, a man came and knocked on the window and scared the heck out of her.”

Sounds like pretty much the same thing these two pacers have been doing to their opposition.

Live racing resumes at Cal-Expo on Thursday (October 4), continuing through Saturday. Post time each night is scheduled for 5:35 p.m. (PDT). On Thursday, Cal-Expo offers Fiesta Thursdays, in which fans can enjoy $2.00 frozen margaritas and tacos.

Cal-Expo offers guaranteed $10,000 pools on all Pick-4’s!