I Ama Rocket decisively defeated streaking stablemate The Light Speed in the $10,000 Preferred Handicap Pace at Rideau Carleton Raceway on Sunday, Oct. 12 for his 50th career win.
Duck Dynasty (Stephane Pouliot) had his nose in front as the gate pulled away, but I Ama Rocket overpowered him on the first turn to take control. Odds-on favourite Hp Lis Shadow (Pascal Berube) was left in the breeze and attempted to advance but could do little to bother I Ama Rocket, who produced :26.4, :54.3, and 1:22.3 fractions for Marie-Claude Auger. I Ama Rocket separated from the field on the backstretch and cruised to a 1:51.3 victory by 4-1/2 lengths over The Light Speed (Guy Gagnon), who was denied a fifth straight win. Jj Xavier (Mike Healey) was third.
I Ama Rocket took his third win in his past four outings as he rebounded from an eighth-place finish when stepping up to the top level last week. The Gagnon-trained nine-year-old Custard The Dragon-Machs Rocket gelding is eight-for-25 this year for owner Louis Ricard of Gatineau, Que. He reached the 50-win milestone in his 208th outing and raised his earnings to $462,691. The win payoff was $14.60.
Gagnon, who reached 2,000 career training victories on the last card at Rideau, quickly began heading for his next milestone with three wins on the Sunday card. The ninth-race victory with I Ama Rocket kicked off a card-closing triple for the conditioner. Vino Louie ($3.30) won the 10th with Gagnon in the bike, followed by Wall Street Bell ($2.30) in the finale.
Wall Street Bell, a five-year-old gelded son of Shadow Play-Bell Bottom Pans, went all the way in 1:55 for his sixth straight victory. He is four-for-four since being claimed by owners Ecuries Guy Gagnon and Seth McLeod. The win improved his lifetime record to 15-for-95.
To view Sunday’s harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Rideau Carleton Raceway.
(Standardbred Canada)