Little Rocket Man went gate to wire to take the $50,000 Open Handicap at Miami Valley on Sunday (March 29) night, one of five wins on the card for leading driver David Miller.
Leaving from post five, David Miller and Little Rock Man pushed away the wings of the starting gate, leaving hard and quickly clearing inside leaving Alta Revelry N (Trevor Smith), as he led the field single-file past the opening quarter in a speedy :26.4. From there the pack desired to follow along as Little Rocket Man used a :28.4 second quarter breather to coast past the half in :55.3. As they turned up the backside, the pace quickened as David Miller stepped on the gas to the tune of a :27 second backside blitz, keeping everyone in line. As they passed three quarters in 1:22.3, Alta Revelry N popped the pocket and started after the leader. As the leaders turned for home, Alta Revelry N closed within a length, but that's all the closer he would get as Little Rocket Man repelled the challenger to win in 1:49.2, unleashing a 26.4 final quarter to pair with a blistering :53.4 back half. Racing Rebel (Chris Page) rallied for third to round out the tri.
For trainer Ken Rucker, Little Rocket Man won for the fifth time this year, and for the 84th time in his career. The 10-year-old gelded son of Rockin Image-GT Miss Royal has earned in excess of $2.3 million lifetime for owners Russ Beeman and Jack Freeman of Anderson, IN.
Miller would also tack on driving victories with Bright Bet ($2.80, 1:51.2), Alwaysonetwomany A ($3.20, 1:53), Book The Fight ($3, 1:51.2) and Pants On Fire ($4.40, 1:49.4).
Trainer Michael Hitchcock had a triple on the Sunday card, with Trace Tetrick steering Humble A ($5.20, 1:49.4) and Let It Ride N ($2.60, 1:50.4) to victories for the conditioner, while Chris Page was victorious with Jimmy Connor B ($12.20, 1:52.1) from the barn.
Racing returns on Monday (March 30) at Miami Valley with a post time of 4 p.m.
(With files from Miami Valley Racing)