by Scott Ehrlich, publicity director, Sacramento Harness Association

He may be the new kid on the block, but Ohoka Jasper has clearly let it be known that he’s the current king of the trotters.

Open l Handicap trotters, racing for a $9,000 purse, were featured at Cal-Expo on Friday night (November 16), in which Ohoka Jasper repeated.

Leaving and racing three-wide for an eighth of a mile plus into a :28.3 first-quarter for trainer/driver Rick Plano, Ohoka Jasper wouldn’t clear to the point until just after the field had traveled 5-16ths of a mile, but Plano wasn’t concerned.

“It wasn’t a tough lead because I was just waiting for those guys to settle in,” said Plano, “Plus, when Desperatehousewife (Gilbert Herrera) was ducked off the gate, that made it pretty easy to get the front.”

With the tempo not fast once making the lead, Plano knew, off the first-half mile time, that his charge would be tough to beat.

“I knew off the :58.3 half that they were going to have to come pretty hard to get me.”

With the field now on the final-turn, Desperatehousewife would begin a first-over mission from last while moving quickly – – which prompted Plano to urge his trotter on at the five-eighths mile pole.

“My horse just goes along and goes enough all the time and can be driven with two fingers, which is unlike a typical New Zealander, as most of them want to go fast and furious and are hard to control. When he saw Desperatehousewife — he actually picked it up on his own.”

Reaching the three-quarter mile station, timed in 1:28.2, Plano was quite confident.

“I knew at the three-quarters that my horse had Desperatehousewife at bay. It was just a matter of keeping his attention to keep him going enough.”

With the field now trotting their way through the lane, Plano’s thoughts, despite Desperatehousewife not going away, hadn’t changed since the three-quarters.

“There wasn’t that much of a concern, even with Desperatehousewife on my outside, because of the four or five times I tapped my horse, he just kept going. There was never really a worried moment for me during the race, even though it may not have looked that way if you were watching the race – – plus my horse seemed like he had more left in the tank.”

Owned by Virginia Schick, Ohoka Jasper would win ($3.40) by three-quarters of one-length, in 1:56.3. The victory for Plano was one of four driving wins. Desperatehousewife was a solid trying second, and Simply Made (Ed Hensley) finished another three-quarters of one-length farther back, in third.

“It was a good race for my horse, and I’m sure that Desperatehousewife, who had been off a week, will be tougher to contend with next week,” Plano concluded.

In a $7,000 Cal-Bred Open pace, Rich And Roll was a great first-over winner for driver Steve Wiseman. Bred and owned by Frank Nevarez, and trained by Jose Ramirez, Rich And Roll would score ($20.20) by three-quarters of one-length in an excellent 1:52.2, a lifetime mark. Ridgeline (Gilbert Herrera) finished a nice second, and Hard On The Heart (Luke Plano) finished another 2-3/4 lengths farther back, in third.