LOS ALAMITOS / HARNESS RACING : Heavy Tipper Beats the Odds

What a difference a week makes.

On Sept. 12, in the first leg of the American Pacing Classic, Odds Against went wire to wire for an easy victory, while Heavy Tipper, one of the few California-bred pacers in the series, finished a disappointing sixth.

The second leg of the series last Saturday was a different story. Instead of going to the lead early, Odds Against was content to pace in the middle of the field with Heavy Tipper even farther toward the back. With a quarter-mile to go, Odds Against had moved into a 1 3/4-length lead, but Rick Kuebler, who drives Heavy Tipper, had the 4-year-old gelding in third place.

When they hit the stretch, an eighth of a mile from the finish, Heavy Tipper was second, three-quarters of a length behind. Heavy Tipper caught Odds Against in the last few strides and won by a neck, stopping the clock in 1:53, a track record for 4-year-old gelding pacers.

It was the biggest victory in Heavy Tipper’s 49-race career and makes him a leading contender, along with Odds Against, for the $100,000 final of the American Pacing Classic on Saturday. He is owned by Jim Coats of Citrus Heights, a suburb of Sacramento.

“When I pulled him out in the (final) turn and he moved up, I was getting thrilled,” Kuebler said. “I thought if I could get eye to eye (with Odds Against) . . . I’d get there.”

As for his defeat on Sept. 12, trainer Paul Blumenfeld blames himself. He tried a new race sulky for the first time, but it didn’t compensate for Heavy Tipper’s awkwardness. Consequently, the gelding spent more time during the first leg competing with the sulky instead of the other horses.

Kuebler did settle Heavy Tipper in the final stretch of that race and the gelding responded with a quick final quarter-mile, 26 4/5 seconds. Blumenfeld knew it was time to go back to the old sulky.

“The new bike only fits certain horses,” Blumenfeld said. “It was trainer stupidity (to use it). He’s just too long-gaited.”

Odds Against has spent most of the year chasing stablemate Artsplace around the country, but will probably be favored in Saturday’s final.

He was such a big favorite before Saturday’s second leg that $154,174 of the $159,467 show pool was wagered on him. The 5-year-old horse, who was driven by Bill O’Donnell, lost by a neck to Heavy Tipper, but raced faster this week--1:52--than he did in the first leg--1:52 4/5.

“(Odds Against) raced good, but (Heavy Tipper) went a big race,” O’Donnell said. “I thought we’d win, but that’s why they race them. As long as we draw (a) good (post position) in the final, we’ll be OK. We were a long way ahead of the rest.”

The only horse beside Odds Against that finished in the top three in both legs was Kenwood Don, a 5-year-old gelding.

Kenwood Don, trained by Mark Anderson and driven by Ed Hensley, has spent the year racing in California and Chicago. He was one of the leading older pacers of the spring Los Alamitos meeting and had little trouble fitting into Chicago’s tougher circuit in the early summer.

He was also the leading pacer at the Sacramento meeting last summer, scoring a five-length victory in the $50,000 Great Western Pace on July 4. In the first leg of the Pacing Classic, he was second to Odds Against and Saturday finished third, 5 1/2 lengths behind Odds Against.