Body Armor, Heavens Gona Rock feature at Cal Expo

Body Armor (Creatine) heads the cast for Friday night’s trotting feature while Heavens Gona Rock (Pet Rock), coming off back-to-back starts versus the top performers on the grounds, has top billing in the co-featured pacing event.

There will be nine races decided under the Watch and Wager LLC banner with first post set for 6:55 p.m.

Heavens Gona Rock is a 5-year-old who is condtioned by Darryl Cutting and is owned and driven by Jake Cutting.

He was a solid winner in a conditioned affair to close out his 2023 campaign here, fanning wide off cover to the drive and coming home with a length and a quarter to spare over a sloppy track that evening.

Heavens Gona Rock has made his last two appearances in the Open, finishing a fast-closing third behind A Major Omen two weeks ago and then filling out the show spot in last week’s top dance behind Major Offense after have some trouble in the stretch.

No matter how things shake out early in Friday’s contest, this Cutting performer would appear to be the one to beat.

Body Armor is likewise dropping out of the Open trotting ranks for owner/driver/trainer Gerry Longo and looks well spotted for a victory in the co-feature.

Allmyx’sliventexas adds to the scrapbook

Allmyx’sliventexas (Hi Ho Silverheels) may have lost a step at age 11, but he still knows how to find the winner’s circle and proved it last week with main man Mooney Svendsen in the sulky.

He is owned by Wayne Knittel, was bred by Wayne and his late brother Rod with veteran Bob Johnson conditioning.

With a ton of Sire Stakes trophies on his mantle, Allmyx’sliventexas has now posed for pictures following 62 of his 197 starts with $335,000 in his account and a 1:50 mark that was established over a sloppy track at Hoosier Park six years ago.

In last week’s conditioned score, the popular performer tracked the pace to the half, was out and moving first-over to engage the leader and showed his class in the stretch to prevail by a half-length in a 1:53 4/5 tour.

“I’ve been fortunate to have some nice horses over the years, and Allmyx’sliventexas ranks right up at the top,” Johnson related after last week’s victory. “For a California-bred, he’s one tough dude.”

Johnson noted he’s normal around the barn, except for one habit that has him constantly on his toes. “He likes to kick at me when I walk behind him,” he said with a laugh.

With his impressive lifetime batting average, quite a few standardbreds can say the same about this pacer.

by Mark Ratzky, for Cal Expo Harness