Batavia Downs leading driver Larry Stalbaum is nick-named "The Bomber" for his propensity of winning with long shots. Stalbaum lived up to his moniker on Saturday night when he escaped the consciousness of the betting public and got home first with 14-1 shot Itsonlyrocknroll A in the $10,000 Open Handicap Pace.
It was a mad dash off the gate as Hardts Or Bettor (Ray Fisher, Jr.), Littlebitaclass (Billy Davis, Jr.) And Focus Power (Drew Monti) all battled for the lead. Focus Power tucked in third and Hardts Or Bettor parked out Littlebitaclass for the remainder of the contest. The pair paced in tandem in :26.4 and :56.1 when Littlebitaclass wore down past the five-eighths.
At that station Jimi Wind Ricks (John Cummings, Jr.) tipped three-wide around him and approached the leader by three-quarters in 1:25.2. But Hardts Or Bettor was still not done as he rebuffed that challenge as well and rounded the last turn looking like he might be the best. But Itsonlyrocknroll A, who had been drafting fourth behind all the early action, made his way into the passing lane at the head of the stretch and from there wore down Hardts Or Bettor to won by a length in 1:54.2.
It was the 13th win of the year for Itsonlyrocknroll A ($30) and it pushed his earnings for 2017 to $80,785. Owned by his driver, Itsonlyrocknroll A is trained by Kim Asher.
The Stalbaum/Asher team also captured the co-featured $9,000 Open II pace in the very next race with recent Australian stable addition, Chumlee A.
Stalbaum was second at the quarter with Chumlee A but came quick at that station and led the remainder of the race. After getting to the half in :57.2, Stalbaum turned on the jets and sped the third quarter to :28.3, putting some distance between himself and the rest of the field. From there Chumlee A was wrapped-up and won by as many as he wanted to in 1:55.1.
It was the second win in two North American starts for Chumlee A ($2.60) who is owned by Mark Jakubik and his trainer, Kim Asher.
For the night the Stalbaum/Asher duo combined for four winners on the card, making their respective meet-leading driver and trainer leads even more secure.
Racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Wednesday afternoon with post time at 5 p.m.
(Batavia Downs)