There was an elimination heat to decide the 10 going postward in the 2-year-old affair and Upncoming Prospect was an impressive winner of that race for the team of owner/breeder Jack Coffey, trainer Bruce Clarke and driver Lemoyne Svendsen. It was the second victory in nine appearances for the daughter of Key Prospect.

Her first win came this summer in a 1:57.4 spin at Vernon Downs in New York and last week's tally saw her overcoming an early miscue to rally boldly into the stretch and get the job done by a length over Sincerity while shaving four ticks off her career standard in the process.

Taking on the Coffey color-bearer are RW Island Spirit, James Kennedy; Power Of Key Largo, Steve Wiseman; Sincerity, Tim Maier; Serengeti Sunset, Steve Hyman; Gee Up, Etienne Desomer; She Is So Glad, Rich Wojcio; Feeling Hothothothot, John Chappell; One Hot Tamale, Luke Plano; and So Relentless, Gilbert Herrera.

Castle Oaks got the job done in the first added-money clash of the fall for the pacing fillies two weeks ago for the combination of owner/breeders Alan Kirschenbaum and Denise Maier and driver/trainer Tim Maier. The Hi Ho Silverheels offspring sat a tracking journey for Maier in that last stakes clash, ignited when straightened for home and pulled away by two lengths over odds-on Silver Bloom and Haggin Oaks. She equaled her lifetime mark with the 1:55.3 clocking.

Silver Bloom is a Wayne Knittel homebred from the Rick Plano barn who is looking for some revenge after carving out all the fractions in that affair and getting overpowered in the late stages. She was the 2-year-old champion, has five trophies on her mantle and a 1:54 standard that was set over this layout.

Haggin Oaks should be much tighter now with a race under her belt. James Kennedy reins and trains the filly for Shari Burns, Ferris Funk and Gerald Cimini and she accounted for three of the four stakes event during the spring, including a 1:55.4 career-best tour in the May 23 Championship. Rounding out the line-up is Cinnamon with Luke Plano; Persuade Me and Lemoyne Svendsen and Moonlight Madam with John Chappell.

Sheila's Dream, Dani California and Firewall are the major players in the Trot, finishing one-two-three in that last gathering on October 30. Sheila's Dream was a powerful victress that evening as the 4-5 choice, making every pole a winning one in a 1:59.3 performance. Maurice Sigmon and George Reider are the co-owners, Reider does the training and Rick Plano will again handle the lines.

Dani California gives the Kirschenbaum/Maier/Maier combination a good chance to capture both of Friday night's stakes, while Firewall is the defending champ in this division and is trying for her sixth trophy for owner/breeder Jack Coffey, conditioner Bruce Clarke and pilot Rich Wojcio. Only In Lodi (Luke Plano) and Cherry Tree Nicole (Jason Maier) complete the cast.

Both 3-year-old stakes will go as non-betting races, while the sophomore stakes goes as the sixth event on the regular 15-race program.

We guarantee you'll like this!

Starting this weekend and continuing through the conclusion of this meet on December 19, the Saturday and Sunday programs will feature guaranteed pools in the Super High 5 and the Bal-Cal Pick 4 Challenge.

Each Saturday card will find a $10,000-guaranteed pool for the Super High 5, which holds the eighth-race slot. A 50-cent minimum wager, the Super High 5 challenges players to predict the first five finishers across the line and has proven to be extremely popular since being introduced in California at the end of last year.

Meanwhile, there is Sunday racing for the next five weeks, and each of those cards will be highlighted by the return of the Bal-Cal Pick 4 Challenge, which comes attached with a $25,000-guaranteed pool. The Bal-Cal is a $1 wager that combines two races at Balmoral Park with two at this track.

Both Cal Expo racing secretary Fred Kuebler and his Chicago counterpart do their very best to put the fullest and most challenging races in these slots, with the result often being very large payoffs and plenty of bang for the buck.

Three trotters headed different directions

This is a story about three trotters on different paths at the moment. One popular performer will be away from the wars for a bit; one has a fan club of his own and is on the verge of making yet another comeback, and the third is a youngster with a very bright future.

Hitchiker, who has a stack of stakes trophies on his mantle and nearly $250,000 in earnings for the Desomer Stables, suffered a slab fracture in his left hock earlier this month and will be sidelined for several months.

Vickie Desomer reports that Hitchiker was due to undergo surgery this week.

"The repair will be done by Dr. Yarborough at Pioneer Clinic in Oakdale," Vickie said. "The fix will require a screw and four to six months recovery. His prognosis is very good, so we hope to see him back in action by late spring or early summer."

The second trotter answers to the name of Challenge The King, and this hard-hitting 7-year-old is on the verge of making his umpteenth comeback for the team of owner Lisa Ehrlich and trainer Bob Johnson. He has twice overcome separate splint bone operations on his left front leg while winning 21 of his 57 starts in a well-documented career.

Challenge The King was last seen winning three straight Open Handicaps back in February, then fate once again stepped in and he went to the sidelines. The veteran was actually being brought back up to speed early in the summer, but suffered yet another setback.

"We've got him in a qualifier this week and then we'll see how he does," said Johnson. "This is one tough horse, and you have to be to come back from everything he has. He certainly has his issues and I don't believe he's going to be anything near what he was, but the key is that he just enjoys it out there so much."

Meanwhile, Johnson also has a 2-year-old trotter in the barn named Franks Best who has his owner/trainer/breeder pretty excited after dominating his peers in the first Sire Stakes of the season last week.

"I'm afraid to say how good he might be," Johnson said. "He had a tendency to lose his train of thought, but he's been perfect in his last two starts."

Rocky Stidham on the mend

It's been two weeks since Rocky Stidham had double hip-replacement surgery, and all things considered, the 49-year-old horseman is doing quite well.

"The surgery went fine, then there were a few problems and I spent a day in ICU, and now it's all good," Rocky related from home. "It's just a matter of doing the rehab and taking it one day at a time. The doctors say I should be able to get back in the sulky in about 90 days."

Stidham admits this surgery was long overdue.

"It started out as back pain, and then turned it out was a hip problem, then both hips," he said. "It's something I should have addressed a while ago, but I kept putting him off. Finally it got to the point where I couldn't ignore it, and the surgery was scheduled back in April. During that time I backed off a bit and also downsized my stable."

Rocky has reached the winner's circle 1,562 times in his driving career and is just shy of being the $6 million man in the earnings department.

"In the 21 years I've been in the game, I believe the longest time I was every away from the sulky was a week, and that was just a couple of times because of accidents.

"To be honest, I'd rather be out there driving and training, but part of me is enjoying the time off and getting away from the pressures. I have some great people working for me, so the horses are in good hands, and I want to thank everybody for their support."

*******

A reminder that next week Cal-Expo will return to the Thursday-through-Sunday racing schedule, while the following week will find no racing on Thanksgiving, Thursday November 26, with Friday, Saturday and Sunday action to follow. Sunday harness action is set at Cal-Expo for the next five weeks, and each of the Sunday programs will feature the Bal-Cal Pick 4 Challenge. The $1 wager comes with a $25,000-guaranteed pool and combines two races at Balmoral Park with two at Cal-Expo, often resulting in large payoffs.

Live racing continues at Cal-Expo on Friday (November 13) through Sunday (November 15). Post-time on Friday and Saturday (November 14) is at 5:35 p.m. (PST). Post-time on Sunday is scheduled at 5:30 p.m. On Friday, Cal-Expo offers Happy Hour between 6:00-8:00 p.m., where $1 Beer, $2 Wine & $3 Buffalo Wings an order is offered. Also on Friday, a carryover of $2,044.41 will be added into the Early Pick-4 pool (Races 2-5). Total Estimated pool is $15,000. Additionally on Friday, a carryover of $3,409.56 will be added into the Super High-5 (Race 8) pool. Total estimated pool is $17,500.

Mark RATZKY