Pick 5, Pick 6 carryovers, guaranteed pools spice up Friday action

Carryovers in both the early Pick 5 and the Pick 6, with guaranteed pools for both, will certainly add interest to Friday night’s card at Cal Expo.

The early Pick 5 takes place over the first five races on the program and will feature a $13,424 carryover from last Sunday evening with a $50,000-guaranteed gross pool.

The early Pick 5 is a 20-cent wager and along with the late Pick 5 and the Pick 4 comes with a reduced 16 percent takeout rate, with the Pick 4 featuring a $25,000 pool every night.

Meanwhile, the Pick 6 is also a 20-cent wager that will be conducted on races 3 through 8 and has a $3,865 carryover and a $10,000 guaranteed pool.

The two carryovers are due in large part to upsets by Sneek Peek Hanover in Sunday’s second race and Ynotthishos in the evening’s eight and final leg of the Pick 6.

Sneek Peek Hanover was dispatched at 40-1 in a conditioned pace while making only his second start of the year for owner Ronald Rettig, trainer Lino Pacheco and pilot Jessie Pacheco.

Leaving from the cozy rail slot, he was able to work out a tracking trip behind the favorites and surged when it counted to hang a neck decision on an unlucky Kioti in that contest.

Ynotthishos, off at 7-1 in the Open II Pace, was unhurried early and then came flying home in :27 1/5 to register the upset and land owner/trainer Jose Castillo in the charmed enclosure.

Sire Stakes for sophomores atop Friday marquee

A pair of $15,000 Sire Stakes for the 3-year-old pacers headline the Friday night card at Cal Expo.

There will be 10 races presented by Watch and Wager LLC and the program will get underway at 6:45 p..m.

The Sire Stakes for the boys brings out a contentious group that features Bin A Mystery, Dougsmonkeybusiness and Polar Storm.

The filly event also features several serious contenders despite the compact cast with Gotyoubydashorthairs likely to get plenty of tote attention off her troubled debut earlier this month.

Looking ahead to Sunday night, two Sire Stakes events for the 4-year-old pacers will be in the spotlight. The Distaff event will feature one of the best rivalries on the grounds when Divine Art and Give Me This Dance do battle.

Divine Art, who had a 17-race win streak snapped early in the meet, has a Sire Stakes trophy and a victory in the Alan Kirshenbaum this month, while Give Me This Dance has prevailed in a Sire Stakes and sports an Open score at this sesssion.

The race for the males finds JP Jetty and Cenalta Hawk among the major players, with these two having captured the initial Sire Stakes clashes at this stand.

Divine Art, JP Jetty headline Sunday Sire Stakes

A pair of $20,000 Sire Stakes for the 4-year-old pacers are on tap Sunday evening at Cal Expo with Divine Art and JP Jetty eyeing their respective second trophies at this meet.

The two Sire Stakes headline a 12-race Watch and Wager LLC program with first post set for 4:55 p.m.

Divine Art is a daughter of Outrageous Art who is owned, trained and driven by Gerry Longo and comes into this assignment with 23 wins from her 32 starts, $280,000 in her bank account and 1:53 3/5 mark that was set at Century Downs and equaled at this oval.

Divine Art came into this meet riding a 12-race winning streak and added five more in a row here before finishing second to arch-rival Give Me This Dance in the first Sire Stakes of the season on February 19.

The hard-knocking mare has two wins and a second since suffering that setback, with a Sire Stakes tally in the slop and most recently a coast-to-coast decision in the Alan Kirschenbaum Memorial.

Taking on Divine Art and Give Me This Dance are Park Withme Nancy, Anotherblaznwoman and Cenalta Flash.

Looking at the race for the males, JP Jetty is a son of Mystery Chase who carries the banner of Qks Racing, hails from the Quentin Schneider barn and will have Mel Mullet in the sulky. JP Jetty accounted for the first Sire Stakes of the season for this division on February 17, storming from off the pace.

Rounding out the field are Minnekhada Joe, Worthy Opponent, Roscoe P Coletrain and Cenalta Hawk.

Wonder Of Love loves to win races

Wonder Of Love has proven to be a solid claim for owner/trainer Kimberly Hines and she’ll set her sights on another victory at the head of the class when she suits up in Sunday’s co-featured Filly and Mare Open Pace.

The 5-year-old daughter of Shadysharp Hanover was red-tagged from a $6,000 optional claiming race on February 10 and has has prevailed in three of her five strarts for Hines, giving her an 8-for-10 record on the year.

Last week’s Open score was certainly one of her best miles, as she never saw the rail but dug in gamely for new pilot Mooney Svendsen to prevail over Salary, who she had followed for the entire 1:54 4/5 tour.

In the evening’s sixth race, the Sire Stakes for the 4-year-old pacing males, Mel Mullet will be re-united with PJ Jetty for the first time since guiding that one to a trophy-earning mile on February 17 in sparkling style.

Mullet, a 28-year-old Wisconsin native, was exposed to the trotters and pacers from as far back as he can remember courtesy of his father Noah, who owned them.

“I knew it was something I always wanted to do,” said Mullet. “I got a great education working with Chris Frendzel back home and Quentin Schneider here and at Running Aces.”