Top Cal Expo mares face off

Graceful Horizon (Vertical Horizon) and Ain’t She Special (American Ideal), both going in sharp form at the moment, get the top billing in Saturday night’s $12,500 Joe Alto Memorial for harness racing pacing fillies and mares.

There will be nine races under the Watch and Wager LLC banner and first post is 6:35 p.m.

Graceful Horizon comes into this assignment off three straight big miles for Set The Pacing Racing LLC and driver/trainer Nick Roland.

The 7-year-old started that run with a near-miss to tonight’s foe Ain’t That Special in the December 28 Open and then got her revenge the following week with an easy victory at the head of the class.

Last week saw both Graceful Horizon and Ain’t She Special in an Open III event where they were facing six boys and one other distaffer and they missed by a nose and another nose, respectively, behind Dancin Lance in that mile.

Ain’t She Special is a 6-year-old who goes about her business for Dave Haness and Luke Plano with Luke going the driving and training.

The bay miss closed out last year with a game Open score and has been third in her last two outings, the most recent being a blanket finish.

Taking them on are Crazy Cute, Nebble Hanover, Wavzeka, Apple Juice and Starzznstripes.

Ragged But Right shows his gears

Ragged But Right (Wink N Atcha) made it a hat trick last weekend, but the 1:56 3/5 final time doesn’t begin to tell the story.

Good harness horses like Ragged But Right, unlike their thoroughbred counterparts, have several gears and that was on full display in his most recent victory.

With Nick Roland handling the lines for the second straight time, the Nathalie Tremblay owned and trained performer was very hard used to the lead through a lively :27 3/5 opening quarter.

At that point, Roland was able to put on the brakes and use that front end to his best advantage. Ragged But Right hit the half in a much more comfortable :58 4/5 and got another breather in the third stanza while hitting that pole in 1:29 2/5.

Following that tepid 1:01 4/5 middle half, the classy 8-year-old shifted back into high gear for the stretch with a sparkling :27 1/5 final quarter that allowed him to hold safe by a desperate nostril over pocket-sitting Albergo Hanover.

This is yet another example of why we believe on average a driver is more important to the outcome of a harness race than a jockey is to a thoroughbred contest, and Roland did a masterful job with the Tremblay campaigner to make another trip to the charmed enclosure.

by Mark Ratzky, for Cal Expo Harness