by Scott Ehrlich, publicity director, Sacramento Harness Association

Sacramento, CA — On Wednesday night (August 1) at Cal-Expo, conditioned/claiming pacers hooked up in the featured $3,500 event, in which Gee Gee Jackpot enjoyed a class drop.

Driving from third at the quarter-mile pole, timed in :29.2, trainer/driver Rick Plano would clear his pacer to the lead to the 7-16th-mile pole before reaching the half-mile marker in :57.2. It wouldn’t be until midway through the final turn that the 4-year old would be pressured, as a hard-charging Kokorona (Steve Wiseman) came calling into a 1:26.2 three-quarter time.

Gee Gee Jackpot, however, would turn aside that threat into the stretch, while at the same time drawing clear by two lengths. For the final 3-16ths of the mile, the gelding would hold firm to win by one length. Jay Bee’s Muffie (Lemoyne Svendsen) finished in second, and Avid Sportsman (Lou Pena) finished just a neck farther back in third.

Bred and owned by Lee and Arlene Gellerman and Cyril and Lola Green, the Cal-bred would stop the timer at 1:55.4. The training victory for Plano was the start of a training double, and the second part of four driving wins on the card.

“He made a pretty easy lead, which is where he likes to be,” said Plano. “I got my own way to the three-quarters even though we went a :57 middle-half and he ended up being well within himself, even though I urged him down the stretch. Tonight, things worked out. It was a good race for him, especially since he hadn’t won in a while.”

Phipps gets some serious class relief

Phipps, who has had the thankless task of chasing home Desperatehousewife and Eweburn Sun N for the past couple of months while competing at the Invitational level, gets some serious class relief and looms strictly the one to beat in Thursday’s (August 2) $4,900 trotting feature at Cal-Expo.

A 7-year-old son of S J’s Photo and the Rule The Wind mare Mazie Minor, Phipps comes into Thursday’s assignment with $165,000 in his bank account and a mark of 1:56 flat, which he set over this layout last season. Lou Pena reins and trains the gelding, and also co-owns with Wade Miller.

Phipps will be coupled in the wagering with Easter Call, who carries the banner of Miller, John Darrah and Neil Ruscigno, and will have John Chappell giving directions. He is coming off an 11-1 upset at this level with Pena in the bike that evening.

Getting back to Phipps, he figures to have too much firepower for this line-up with a mistake-free mile. A 10-time winner from his 40 appearances last season, he has clicked three times from 23 starts in 2007, with the majority of those outings coming at the head of the class under Invite conditions.

Phipps recorded his most recent score in the June 7 Invitational, as he sat a pocket trip and then dug in when things got serious to prevail by a neck over Desperatehousewife, who has in the interim become one of the hottest performers on the grounds.

Since that early June tally, the Pena representative has recorded three third-place finishes, followed by a distant second behind the aforementioned Desperatehousewife in the July 19 Invite. He has some versatility in his arsenal and should be very tough with this crew.

Easter Call adds some power to the team and he looked sharp posting the $24 surprise last week. The son of Call Toll Free left for position, made a power brush to command on the final bend to open up a long lead, then held safe by a length over Final Choice.

The latter will be gunning for some revenge after completing the exacta last week as the even-money choice. Gilbert Herrera owns, trains and drives the son of Jonathan Lobell, who won seven times last year and has a like number of victories already this season.

Final Choice recorded back-to-back smashing wins with this kind on July 12 and 19, on both occasions sitting a close-up-and-personal journey and then drawing off once straightened for home. He finished smartly last time, but had spotted the winner too big an advantage and had to be happy with the second money.

The field is completed by British Columbia (Steve Hyman), Irish Whiskey (Chip Lackey) and London Calling (Rich Wojcio).

Lou Pena, please phone home

Lou Pena will be sending out a strong team in Thursday’s main event with Phipps and Easter Call representing the shedrow. The former is dropping out of the Invitational, while Easter Call attempts an encore.

“He finally made a collect call that somebody answered,” Pena joked after Easter Call posted an 11-1 upset last weekend at this level. While the side-wheeler won six of his 19 starts last season, this was his third snapshot on the year from 17 trips to the post.

The 6-year-old is owned by a partnership made up of John Darrah, Wade Miller and Neil Ruscigno, with over $77,000 in his bank account and a 1:56.3 mark that was established as a sophomore.

“I left out of there to get position,” Pena related when asked about the winning journey. “Down the backstretch, I took a look at the horse up front (Youngblood Hanover) and decided it would be a good idea to hurry up and get into his face.”

Lou did just that, and by the time the field passed the three-quarter mark, Easter Call had delivered a knockout punch by opening up over three lengths on the field. When all was said and done, he had a length on even-money favorite Final Choice, ending that one’s winning streak.

“It worked out perfectly, because the field got stalled behind us and we were able to open up a big advantage,” Pena continued.

Can Easter Call do a curtain call as the lesser part of what figures to be a well-fancied entry? Stay tuned.

Live racing resumes at Cal-Expo tonight (Thursday), continuing through Saturday. Post time on Thursday is at 6:15 p.m. (PDT). Post time on Friday and Saturday is at 6:30 p.m. 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!

— Mark Ratzky also contributed to this report