by Scott Ehrlich, publicity director, Sacramento Harness Association

Sacramento, CA — He was winless in 21 “off-track” performances, but that streak came to an abrupt halt on Thursday night (January 24) as N V Warlord dominated.

Claiming trotters, in to be claimed from $8,000 to $12,000, were featured for a $4,800 purse on a windy, rainy and cold night at Cal-Expo, in which N V Warlord repeated.

In advance of starting from post position six in the field of a half-dozen over a “sloppy” racetrack, trainer/driver Rocky Stidham knew where all eyes would be watching.

“He has been pretty sharp and I thought he had a good chance,” said Stidham. “I, however, wasn’t completely set on leaving, but I was going to float him out of there and see what the other guys were doing. When I saw I wasn’t going to have to use him pretty hard, I went to the front — especially since it was rainy and sloppy.”

Racing three-wide for an eighth of a mile and not clearing to the front until well after the field had traveled 3-16ths of a mile into a :29.4 first quarter, Stidham was more worried with the track condition as opposed to how much he had to use his horse.

“Only the racetrack concerned me because the track was slippery and in turn he was slipping a little and a little steppy. The lead, though, wasn’t tough on him.”

Left with a four length lead past the quarter-mile pole when Jade’s Crown (Rick Plano) broke in the pocket, Stidham had one thing on his mind.

“Once I knew Jade’s Crown had made the break, I just wanted to keep my horse trotting.”

With his lead reduced to two lengths at the half-mile station, timed in 1:00.2, Stidham would be optimistic.

“I felt pretty good at that point even though he was a little steppy at times — which is why I tried to keep him about 3 to 3-1/2 wide — where the track was firmer.”

Under tippy-tap urging to the final turn, N V Warlord would gradually open the lead through that bend.

“I didn’t feel or hear anybody behind me, so around halfway through the final turn I felt pretty good.”

On top by three lengths at the three-quarter pole, timed in 1:30.2, Stidham remained optimistic.

“I was very confident, all while wanting to keep him trotting because I felt no pressure. In the stretch, I think he knew he was winning before I did because he started easing up in the last sixteenth of a mile. He was good and confident down the stretch.”

Cruising to a very easy win ($3.60) by 4-3/4 lengths, the Mike Brown owned 7-year-old would stop the timer at 2:03. Cherry Tree Luke (Jim Lackey) came on to finish in second, and London Calling (Tim Maier) finished another three lengths back in third.

“It was a good race for him, especially given that it was in the slop,” Stidham finished.

Live racing will resume at Cal-Expo on Friday (January 25) and continue through Sunday (January 27). Post time on Friday and Saturday is at 6:30 p.m. (PST). Post time on Sunday is scheduled for 5:35 p.m. On Friday, Cal-Expo offers Happy Hour between 6:00-8:00 p.m., where $1 beer, $2 wine and $3 orders of buffalo wings are offered.

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