Unbeaten filly heads California Sire Stakes

Give Me This Dance, victorious in all four of her starts this harness racing season in impressive fashion, looks to add to her resume in Friday night’s featured $15,000 California Sire Stakes for the 3-year-old pacing fillies at Cal Expo.

This race will share the spotlight with a $7,000 Open Pace that finds Dancin Lance and A Major Omen among the major players.

Watch and Wager LLC will present nine races with first post set for 6:45 p.m.

Give Me This Dance is a 3-year-old daughter of Wind Me Up who is owned by Alan and Cheryl Sandbulte and is reined and trained by Nick Roland. She has been perfect in her three appearances at the meet, including the most recent Sire Stakes clash two weeks ago.

Sent off at 2-5 in that contest, the Santbulte colorbearer was used to command and then covered up at the half, found room to split rivals at mid-stretch and won going away by two and a half lengths. She came back with a 1:55 3/5 score in conditioned company last week.

Wind Meup To Life earned a stakes trophy on March 4 in her debut and has was runner-up to Give Me This Dance in that last affair for the division after brushing to command on the backside and giving way grudgingly. Cordarius Stewarts will guide.

Completing the field are Toot Toot, who has the rail with James Kennedy at the helm; Cenalta Flash with Mooney Svendsen and Anotherblazinwoman for Luke Plano.

Shesureissomething getting her revenge

They say good things come to those who wait, and that has certainly been the case with Shesureissomething this year.

An 11-time victress last season, she started 2021 with six seconds and two thirds from her eight trips to the post, but her last two outings have resulted in visits to the charmed enclosure for owners Alan and Cheryl Sandbulte, trainer Rick Bertrand regular pilot Cordarius Stewart.

After suffering broken equipment as the favorite in her March 13 outing, Shesureissomething has returned with back-to-back victories at the Open level, with last week’s score being a both literal and figurative steal at 3-1 odds.

Stewart flew to the top with his charge, then got away with a pedestrian :59 3/5 half and 1:29 three-quarters that gave her a huge advantage. Tossing in a :26 and change final quarter, she sealed the deal.

It will be interesting to see if Shesureissomething can continue her winning ways at the top of the distaff ranks while facing some very sharp performers.

Looking ahead to Saturday night’s program, the 3-year-old pacing colts will clash in Sire Stakes action with Worthy Opponent and Ihopeurhappy renewing their rivalry, while the co-featured Open Trot will find Mandeville and Priderest heading that cast.

A reminder there are three wagers offered here each night that come with a reduced 16 percent takeout rate – the 20-cent early and late Pick 5 and the 20-cent Pick 4 – with the latter featuring a $30,000-guaranteed gross pool on Fridays and a $25,000 guarantee on Sundays.

By Mark Ratzky, for Cal Expo Harness