Divine Art going for 18 straight Sunday

Divine Art (Outrageous Art) will attempt to win her 18th straight race when she heads the cast for Sunday night’s $20,000 Sire Stakes for the 4-year-old pacing mares.

Watch and Wager LLC will present 11 races Sunday with first post set for 5 p.m. and the main event will go off as the sixth contest on the evening.

Divine Art is owned, trained and driven by Gerry Longo. She scored the first 12 victories of the streak in her native Canada and has added five more snapshots since venturing to California and joining Longo’s shedrow.

Divine Art established a new lifetime mark of 1:53 2/5 when she accounted for the DHA Free-for-All two weeks ago. She was hard used first over to the stretch that day before drawing away to a three and a quarter lengths score.

Sent off at 1-5 in last week’s Filly and Mare Open, Longo was parked to the lead at the quarter and then had a comfortable trip on the front end to the drive. She had a length and a half advantage at midstretch and ended up lasting by a head over a hard charging Give Me This Dance while again stopping the timer in a sharp 1:53 2/5.

Give Me This Dance has turned in two strong efforts since arriving from the East and looms large in the Sire Stakes. The Wind Me Up homebred represent Alan and Cheryl Sandbutte, takes her lessons from Jose Castillo and will have Brad Irvine at the helm.

Completing the field are Park With Me Nancy, Anotherblazingwoman and Cenalta Flash.

The co-feature on the program is the $8,000 Open Pace which has drawn a field of eight and finds Dancin Lance in the assigned outside post for owner Juan Pacheco and trainer Leon Smith.

Dancin Lance has accounted for three of the last five dances at the top rung, including back-to-back tallies on January 27 and February 5.

He was hard used from the tough No. 9 post in last week’s Open and had to settle for a fourth-place check behind Keystone Tenacious and one of tonight’s rivals in Major Offense.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Mark Ratzky, for Cal Expo Harness