Bettors didn’t give much respect to Rudy Rocks in Monday’s $60,000 final of the Don Mills Stakes, and clearly the trotter took offence to the snub
.
Sent off at odds of 35-1 following an unimpressive fourth-place finish in last week’s elimination, Rudy Rocks rallied in deep stretch and got up in time for the Allard brothers – driver Simon and trainer Rene - to win the trotting tilt.
Lexis D J shot to the early lead and had nine foes lined up behind him through a :28-second opening panel. He didn’t hold the lead for very long, though. Pocket-sitting Bookem, who was a 1:55.4 winner in last week’s elimination round, leapfrogged past Lexis D J and rolled to the field to the mid-way point in :57.4 before coming under attack around the final turn from Victom AS, who won his elimination one week ago in 1:56.4.
Bookem was still in charge at the three-quarter pole in 1:26.4, but he quickly got swallowed up by a number of rivals from the backfield. Rudy Rocks, who was sixth on the rail around the final turn, caught a break when race favourite Roush Hanover made a break while racing from third over. Roush Hanover’s miscue allowed Allard to escape to the outside, and with open road in front of them Allard and Rudy Rocks set sail and got up for the final stride decision over Classic Alana. Winmecredit took home the show dough.
"I didn't have much luck driving last summer, but I knew he had lots of speed and would be competitive tonight," said Simon Allard . "He was 35-1, so I didn't pull him first-over and front-end speed wasn't holding up tonight, so I was lucky enough to use that to my advantage. He was really on his game tonight and dug in deep late in the mile to win."
The victory was the first of the season in four tries for Rudy Rocks, who is owned by Rene Allard, Slaughter Racing Stb and Anne O’Keefe. The gelding, who is now an eight-time winner, bumped his overall bankroll to $128,185 with the triumph.
As for the Allard brothers, they ended up winning three races in total on the card. Aside from Rudy Rocks' win, they also clicked with Canaco Run (1:54) and Ashton Seelster (1:54.2). Rene currently holds down a share of the top spot (tied at 14 with Richard Moreau) in the trainers' standings on the WEG circuit this year, while Simon sits fourth in the drivers' standings with 21 trips to victory lane.
(With quotes from WEG)
To view Monday’s results, click here.