by Scott Ehrlich, publicity director, Sacramento Harness Association

Sacramento, CA — He stole his last when he set soft fractions and some weren’t convinced he was back, but make no mistake about it, Keystone Eli is back as the king of the hill at Cal-Expo.

Open I handicap pacers, racing for a purse of $9,000, shared the spotlight on a nice Saturday night (September 1) card, in which Keystone Eli proved too tough.

Before starting from post position six in the field of seven, drive Rick Kuebler was confident, but knew that it might not be as easy as it was the week before when he and his charge jogged to the half in :59.

“He raced well last week and seems to be rounding into top form — so I figured he’d be the horse to beat,” said Kuebler. “The strategy was optional as I felt we were going to see a faster clip than last week with the key being if anyone else left the gate other than Biggest Big Bertha (John Chappell). If that happened I thought there would have been a very fast pace and I would have ducked.”

With Biggest Big Bertha leaving along with a pylon protecting The Pand Illusion (Rick Plano), Kuebler would elect to leave and would race three-wide for an eighth of a mile before racing covered up two-wide until being left alone on the rim after 3-16ths of a mile. Now moving up for the lead off of a :27.4 first quarter, Keystone Eli wouldn’t clear to the front until the three-eighth-mile pole.

“I was able to coast to the lead up the backside without using him extensively — so the lead wasn’t as demanding despite how it may have looked.”

Already slowing down his horse just before crossing over to the inside, Keystone Eli would reach the half-mile marker, timed in :56.4.

“I thought the :29 second quarter was just the breather he needed, and the :56.4 first half was just right for him. From there I thought he’d be very tough.”

Not receiving pressure in the third quarter until halfway through the final turn, Kuebler would ask when challenged.

“I kept the same relaxed pace until midway through the last turn until Little Stevie (Gilbert Herrera) came first-up — at which point, I started to turn my horse loose.”

Tripping the beam at the three-quarter-mile pole, timed in 1:25.4, Kuebler was upbeat.

“That third quarter of :29 was another beneficial quarter for him and at that point he was just starting to open up and I knew he’d be very tough to overhaul.”

Now in full gear at the top of the stretch, Kuebler would put the finishing touches to the soon-to-be victory.

“Here again, reminiscent to his previous start, I pulled the earplugs to the seven-eighths and he dug in and paced hard through the wire. The field, in deep stretch, was slowly gaining, but I really didn’t have any major concerns.”

Owned by Hei Mitchell, Keystone Eli would hold firm while under urging to win ($3.80) by three-quarters of a length, in 1:53.2. The 39-1 longshot Latino Hall (Jim Lackey) finished in second, and Pacing Artist (Luke Plano) finished just a neck farther back in third.

“He’s rounding into the same form that he had eight weeks ago before he took some time off. As sharp as this horse was before the layoff, trainer Bobby Johnson has done a great job of management and training to bring him back to top form,” Kuebler finished.

In two $22,500 divisions of California Sires Stakes for freshman boys on both gaits, the favorites didn’t disappoint.

On the trotting side, Stars And Sites made it two-for-two in his young career by cruising to a wrapped up 4-1/4 length victory for trainer/driver Bruce Clarke. Owned by the breeder Jack Coffey in partnership with Traci Camilli, Stars And Sites would score ($2.40) in 2:00.4. Meringue (Rich Wojcio) finished in second, and Entomologist (Rick Plano) finished another 1-1/4 lengths back in third.

On the pacing side, Themaninthewindow would score for the entire Plano family. Owned by Erica Plano, whose mother Mary Ann shared in the breeding, and trained by her father Rick, while driven by her brother Luke, Themaninthewindow, in winning by three-quarters of a length, would stop the timer at 1:56.1, a lifetime best. Bronte Anas Boy (Gilbert Herrera) finished in second, and Star Time Kid (Rick Plano) finished 4-3/4 lengths farther back in third.

Live racing resumes at Cal-Expo on Friday (September 7), continuing through Saturday. Post time on both nights is scheduled for 5:35 p.m. (PDT).

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