Celebrity Status eyes another stakes trophy

A pair of $20,000 California Sire Stakes for the 3-year-old harness racing pacers headline the Sunday night (Mar. 10) action at Cal Expo, with Another Tuff Woman and Celebrity Status getting top billing.

Watch and Wager LLC will present 12 races with first post set for 5:05 p.m.

Another Tuff Woman is a homebred daughter of Wind Me Up out of the Village Jolt mare Another Wild Woman who carries the banner of Alan and Cheryl Sandbulte, is conditioned by Jose Castillo and will once again have Luke Plano giving directions.

The bay miss made her first start since July when she suited up here February 2 and just missed in a conditioned affair.

This set up Another Tuff Woman perfectly for the first stakes clash of the season for this group the following week and she looked the part of an odds-on choice as she made every pole a winning one and romped home by 17 lengths that evening.

Last week, while racing over a sloppy track, she finished second in a conditioned event and looks very tough back with her peers.

Celebrity Status was dispatched as the 3-5 choice in the initial Sire Stakes for the 3-year-old males and proved clearly best, looping the leaders to the stretch and going on to a two and three-quarter lengths decision.

The sophomore is owned and was bred by Set The Pace Racing LLC with Nick Roland doing the driving and training.

Nick Roland believes the 3-year-old pacer Celebrity Status is beginning to live up to his name and will look to add to his confidence in Sunday night’s Sire Stakes for the 3-year-old pacing males.

The son of Vlos, who is owned by Set The Pacing Racing LLC and reined and trained by Roland, was an impressive winner of the first Sire Stakes of the season for this division three weeks ago.

Tracking the leaders from fourth for Roland, Celebrity Status looped the field turning for home and went on to an authoritative two and three-quarter lengths decision as the 3-5 favorite.

“He was a little slow to develop last year, but we knew he had the talent,” Roland related.

“He was second in the ($65,000) Championship at the end of the Running Aces meet and then we gave him some time and brought him out here for these stakes races.”

After a needed qualifier and a prep race, Celebrity Status was all geared up for that aforementioned February 16 stakes clash and proved clearly best.

“He’s been a pleasant surprise,” his mentor noted. “He’s still a little green and does seem to prefer to race off the helmet, but he doesn’t have to race that way.”

It will be interesting to see if Celebrity Status can add another stakes score to his resume this weekend.

by Mark Ratzky, for Cal Expo Harness