Dismissed at 8-1, Rock The Nite confidently passed up an early hole, powered to the lead and cruised to victory in Monday’s opening leg of a late-closing series for freshman colt and gelding pacers at The Meadows.
Jed Kidd Squaking and Conversation Boy captured the other $12,500 opening-leg splits. The series is one of four for two-year-olds that kick off this week at The Meadows.
Dave Palone had a chance to ease Rock The Nite to the pylons around the first turn but instead urged the son of Rocknroll Hanover-Queen Of The Ball to wrest the lead from Cams Fernando. The stalking Cams Fernando tried again in the stretch, but Rock The Nite held him off by 1/2 length in a career-best 1:55 over a sloppy surface. Firm It Up finished third.
Norm Parker trains Rock The Nite for owner/breeder Bob Key.
Elsewhere on the card, 17-1 Macharoundtheclock rallied from seventh in the lane to score a nose victory in 1:52.4 in the $16,500 Filly & Mare Not Listed Preferred Pace. Stucklikeglue and Your Beautiful completed the ticket.
Eric Ledford drove the four-year-old daughter of Mach Three-Summers Soul, who now boasts $336,407 in lifetime earnings, for conditioner Tim Twaddle and owner Birnam Wood Farms.
Tony Hall piloted four winners and Aaron Merriman three on the 16-race card.
(The Meadows)