by Mark Ratzky, publicity, Cal-Expo

Sacramento, CA — It took Hope Tu Place a couple of starts following the vacation to get back to form, but she’s certainly there now with back-to-back Cal-Expo scores for owner Maurice Sigmon and trainer Kennedy Lindsey.

The 6-year-old trotting mare romped home two back with James Kennedy at the controls, then had a bit tougher task from an outside post in last week’s tour and responded with another solid tally for Luke Plano after being used hard in the early stages.

“She’s easy to spot in my barn because she’s the only gray,” Lindsey related. “In fact, she’s the only gray horse I’ve ever trained. The drop in class has certainly helped her and she’s going good right now.”

Hope Tu Place was no threat in her first start at the meet, then made a break at the start as the 6-5 chalk in her next try, but has apologized twice since that miscue.

“You can tell she has a lot more confidence when she comes back from a win, as opposed to a race where she makes a break,” her mentor said. “She’s a real nice filly with a good personality and easy to be around.”

TVG Amateur Driving Series on tap

Saturday night (Sept. 11) will find the next round of the TVG Amateur Driving Series. There will be two qualifying legs and then a finale on Sept. 25, with that race expected to be worth $8,000. This weekend, all horses will be eligible to be claimed for a $2,500 base claiming price, while next week it goes up to $3,000 and no claiming from the final.

Last May, an Amateur Driving Series was decided for $4,000 claimers. After those five races, the standings found Sue Boyce leading Rick Bertrand by a small margin, with Robert Stepien and David Siegel still in range.

TVG is a proud sponsor of the series and TrackMaster is supporting the event by giving away free programs and selections. They can be found at www.trackmaster.com/calx.

Live racing resumes at Cal-Expo on Thursday (Sept. 9) and continues through Saturday (Sept. 11). Post time on Thursday is at 6:15 p.m. (PDT).