After a slim victory in a four-horse photo in his last start, Little Rocket Man was on the right side of another tight finish for his second straight win in the $49,315 Horses and Geldings Open Handicap Pace at Miami Valley Raceway on Sunday, Mar. 1.
Fired out from post six by David Miller, Little Rocket Man found a seat third behind the speed duel of Alta Revelry N (Trevor Smith) and Joelsyy Hanover (Sam Widger). Alta Revelry N sped to the front, protecting rail position, but Joelsyy Hanover wanted the lead and pressed on to a :26.3 opening quarter. The battle raged as the duo passed the stands for the first time, and Joelsyy Hanover eventually eclipsed his foe before heading into the second turn, but Alta Revelry N refused to cede the front and pulled back to even terms at the half in :54.3. As they travelled up the backside, the hot fractions started to take their toll on Joelsyy Hanover, who backed out of contention.
Alta Revelry N could find no relief though, as Little Rocket Man popped out of the pocket and challenged for the lead past the three-quarters in 1:22.1. Alta Revelry N continued to lead around the final turn and tried to fight off Little Rocket Man, but the race-long pressure proved to be too much as Little Rocket Man got up by a head at the wire in 1:50.1. A huge effort by Alta Revelry N was rewarded with second while Burnout (Austin Hanners) closed from last to finish third.
The win was the 82nd lifetime in 148 starts for Little Rocket Man, who is trained by Ken Rucker for owners Russell Beeman and Jack Freeman. The 10-year-old son of Rockin Image-Gt Miss Royal has now earned $2,320,689. He paid $6 to win.
Luke Hanners led the drivers with a grand slam on the 14-race card while David Miller had a triple. A.J. Carlo, Virgil Morgan Jr. and Henry Graber Jr. each had training doubles.
Racing returns to Miami Valley on Monday with a post time of 4 p.m.
(With files from Miami Valley Raceway)