by Mark Ratzky, publicity, Cal-Expo

Sacramento, CA — The 3-year-old trotters and pacers will be in the Cal-Expo spotlight Saturday night (December 20) with four $25,000 Championship events headlining an excellent program.

The best rivalry would appear to be between Stars And Sites and Meringue in the trotting colt division, as they have dominated the big-money events.

Stars And Sites races for Jack Coffey and Traci Camilli with Bruce Clarke doing the driving and training and has six trophies on his mantle. He earned the most recent two weeks ago after carving out all the fractions and holding safe by a head over his pocket-sitting arch-rival that evening.

Meringue is a son of Jonathan Lobell who carries the Dawn Evango banner with Hans Rynningen the conditioner and Luke Plano handling the lines. He dropped a nose decision to Stars And Sites in the November 8 Sire Stakes, prevailed by 1-1/2 lengths in the next major dance, then just missed two weeks ago.

Themaninthewindow is the big gun among the pacing colts for owner Erica Plano, trainer Rick Plano and pilot Luke Plano. He comes into this assignment with eight wins from his 31 lifetime appearances, including a half-dozen stakes tallies and a 1:54 mark that was established at Vernon Downs during the summer.

In the most recent stakes get-together on December 6, Themaninthewindow was sent off the 1-2 favorite and did not disappoint his many backers. He stalked early, made his move on the final bend, then got home by a neck over a tenacious Rod’s Famous Ribs. The latter has been his most immediate victim in the last two added-money affairs.

Team Plano is also going to be tough in the sophomore pacing filly Championship with My Fanny carrying the stable banner. The CR Fandango Fella homebred has over $110,000 in her bank account and set her 1:55 mark earlier this year at Harrah’s Chester. She was the punctual favorite in the last Sire Stakes two weeks ago.

Smooth Jazz had been the dominating force in the filly trotting ranks for Tim and Denise Maier until two weeks ago, when she suffered her first career loss in her 13th trip to the post. It was Gilbert Herrera’s Sad Parting who picked up the first stakes tally of her career in that race while establishing a 1:59.2 mark in the process.

In addition to the four stakes races, Saturday night’s program will feature free admission, cash prizes, a free early Pick-4 ticket, dollar hot dogs and drinks, a T-shirt giveaway, and a special retirement party for the soon to be 15-year-old trotter River City Storm.

Taxi Dancer stepping lively these days

Taxi Dancer is holding a pretty hot hand at the moment, as the 4-year-old pacing mare has won five in a row for owner Robin Clements, trainer Vickie Desomer and pilot Etienne Desomer — while steadily working her way up the alphabetical ladder.

Taxi Dancer loves to sit early and explode late and appears to have found a new lease on life over the last couple of months. Interestingly, her most recent score was the first during this streak that she’s actually gone off as the public choice.

“She’s a half-sister to Cat Burglar and Cat Call and I purchased her in February from the Desomers,” Clements related. “She started off with a bang while breaking two lifetime marks and paid for herself in a month. I called her the queen of the amateur series, because she’s won a race each year in the East vs. West series.”

During the summer, it was apparent that Taxi Dancer was not on her game as her form tailed off noticeably.

“She seemed to lose her speed and desire to race, and at that point I realized she was only 4 but had raced 71 times in a 15- to 16-month period,” Robin explained. “Two weeks before the end of that meet I turned her out and gave her an entire month off to rest.”

While that may sound like an easy task for most horses, the Clements color-bearer isn’t one for travel.

“I had been racing her at the track because I would cringe at the thought of loading her into a trailer, which could take anywhere from a half-hour to an hour and a half.

“After the break, Tien (Etienne Desomer) started helping me load Taxi into the trailer as I really wanted to race her off the farm as she seemed more relaxed at home. Tien is very good for her as he lets her take her time without putting her into panic mode. She races solely off the farm now and it works as long as Tien is within earshot to help.”

Clements admits she put the mare up for sale a couple of months ago, but nobody bit.

“I tried to sell Taxi for $3,600 and there were no takers. She must have gotten wind of that and that’s when she started her winning streak,” finished a laughing Clements.