Little Rocket Man upsets in thrilling $200,000 Battle

Northfield, OH — The old saying goes, “third time’s a charm,” and for Little Rocket Man (Rockin Image), the third trip to the $200,000 at Battle of Lake Erie was a winning one, as he scored an impressive harness racing victory at odds of 20-1 on Saturday (June 8) at MGM Northfield Park.

Carbine (Austin Hanners) was hustled off the wings, clearing rivals entering the first turn with Bythemissal (Chris Page) left parked by Linedrive Hanover (Aaron Merriman). As the field entered the clubhouse turn Desperate Man (Matt Kakaley) jumped off stride, completely changing the dynamic of the race.

Entering the backstretch, Bythemissal powered past Carbine to take over before a soft :27 first quarter. As the field entered the stretch the first time, Little Rocket Man (Jeremy Smith) looked like he wanted to come to the outside, but bided his time, waiting on Coaches Corner (Jason Bartlett) to step off the pylons to do some of the heavy lifting.

With the outer flow developing, Merriman tipped Linedrive Hanover to the outside first over to take a shot at the two-time Ohio Horse of the Year. Bythemissal continued to cruise on the front end past the half in :55.2.

Entering the backstretch, Bythemissal continued to fend off all challengers, but at three-quarters in 1:23, the race was on, with Page looking over his shoulder to a host of pursuers.

As they entered the far turn, Coaches Corner tipped off cover three-wide, bringing Little Rocket Man, who got the perfect trip with him. Pocket sitting Carbine was stacked up around the far turn behind a tiring Bythemissal, with Little Rocket Man roaring four-wide turning for home.

“That four-wide move around the last turn is very difficult,” said a jubilant trainer, Ken Rucker. “He’s got a heart of gold; he wants to win every race he is in.”

Through the stretch, Bythemissal gave way, with Little Rocket Man, dismissed at 20/1, storming down the center of the racetrack in upset fashion by a half-length in 1:52.4. Coaches Corner was second by a half a length with Desperate Man, recovered from his early break for Matt Kakaley, closing to be third.

LITTLE ROCKET MAN REPLAY

Owned by Russell E. Beeman and Jack A. Freeman, the 8-year-old is trained by Ken Rucker. It was the 59th victory for the gelding and brought his earnings to $1,872,799. Little Rocket Man paid $43.80 to win.

“Everything I anticipated to happen in the race didn’t happen,” said winning driver Jeremy Smith. “My horse just overcame it; at the half, I thought if I could be third or fourth, it would be great, but going into the last turn, my confidence swelled. He never lets me down.”

Why Not Now (was pulled up before three-quarters, following up with trainer Todd Luther after the race, he said “He’s okay, the vet ran some fluids through him, and we will take him home for further examination.”

Racing For Three (Western Terror) made it four-for-four over the Home of the Flying Turns with a power-packed victory in the $75,000 MGM Buckeye Distaff at MGM Northfield Park.

Soft Spot (Jason Bartlett) was put into play early, clearing foes entering the first turn, with Racing For Three (Trevor Smith) taking up pocket position and Hey Hey Mama (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) finding a seat in third.

Soft Spot led the field in the straight alignment past an uncontested quarter of :27.3. Entering the stretch for the first time, Do It Like Bobbi (Austin Hanners), who was parked from the start, engaged Soft Spot, but Barlett continued controlling the tempo, with the field getting to the half in :57.

Bartlett sped to three-quarters in 1:24.4, asking his mare for a little more entering the far turn.  Ground saving Racing For Three exploded around the final turn, working past Soft Spot, winning by three-quarters of a length in 1:54.

RACING FOR THREE REPLAY

 “We got lucky coming into the last turn, she likes to drift out a little bit, so when she came out of the pocket, I was very happy,” said Smith. “She’s such a fun horse to drive.”

 Owned by Carlo Racing LLC, and C2G Stable, the 4-year-old mare pushed her career earnings to $237,970.

To read about the Buckeye Stallion Series events on the card, click here.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.

by Michael Carter, for MGM Northfield Park