by Mark Ratzky, publicity, Cal Expo Harness

Sacramento, CA — It may have said 27-1 on the board, but Incredible Gambler looked more like an odds-on favorite last week at Cal Expo as she took aim on the leaders at the head of the stretch and won going away with Dave Siegel in the sulky. She attempts an encore in Saturday night’s (Nov. 23) 10th race.

Incredible Gambler, a 7-year-old daughter of Allamerican Ingot, currently carries the banner of Clint Lugar and hails from the Lino Pacheco barn. Making her first start since late August at Vernon Downs and sporting a qualifier with the comment “under wraps,” she was ready to rock and roll off the bench.

While Siegel was merely the passenger for the latest victory, he has a successful history with Incredible Gambler that also includes posing for pictures as the owner of this hard-hitting distaffer.

“I claimed her back in April of last year,” Siegel explained. “I owned her for a little over a year, though she was claimed a couple of times in between. Matias Ruiz trained her and she was about as reliable a performer as there can be.

“I have won with her 11 times, and I think except for one race where she broke, she got a check in something like 25 consecutive races. Clint purchased her from me at the end of the last meet and she raced very well in Minnesota for Luke Plano, but did not seem to like the track at Vernon Downs as much as she does the Cal Expo oval.”

Incredible Gambler, who went over the $90,000 earnings plateau with her most recent appearance for Team Lugar/Pacheco/Siegel, can pretty much get the job done from any position in the race, but does have a preference.

“While she can race any which way, she likes coming off the pace the best, so with our shorter fields and wide turns, she is really well suited for Sacramento,” Siegel said. “I was really excited when Clint asked me to drive her, especially when we have some really good drivers here. I guess he saw how I had done with her and gave me the nod.

“She qualified super, and I was just hoping for a good, off the pace trip with her in her first outing after the trip west. But the front went fast enough, and she was her old self coming from the back. It’s really nice to be reunited and I hope I can continue to do well with her.”