Rocknroll Hanover colts captured two of the three New Jersey Sires Stakes divisions for sophomore pacing colts contested Saturday at Meadowlands Racetrack including Berry’s Creek winner Rock N Roll Heaven
, who dominated his split winning by five lengths in 1:49.4.
Daniel Dube hustled Rock N Roll Heaven off the gate from Post 5 and led the field through fractions of :27.1, :55.4 and 1:23.1 before kicking home in :26.3 to win his $26,400 NJSS division. Foreign Officer (Yannick Gingras) rallied off cover to finish second over the pocket-sitter Meirs Hanover (Ron Pierce).
Rock N Roll Heaven returned $2.40 to win as the 1-5 favourite. The Rocknroll Hanover-Artistic Vision colt, who is eligible to the Pepsi North America Cup, is now three-for-four this season with $136,200 earned for trainer Bruce Saunders and owner Frank Bellino of Bronxville, New York. He is the 8-1 third choice in Trot Magazine’s 2010 Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book.
Another Rocknroll Hanover colt stole the spotlight in the previous $25,800 division. World Of Rocknroll and driver Yannick Gingras advanced to the lead from third after the 8-5 favourite and eventual third-place finisher Blue Rock (Brian Sears) put up the first quarter in :27. He reached the half in :56.2 and three-quarters in 1:24.3 before holding off A J Corbelli (George Brennan), who rallied three-wide from the backfield. World Of Rocknroll’s :26.4 final frame propelled him to a 1:51.2 victory by an neck.
World Of Rocknroll returned $6.60 to win as one of the 2-1 second choices. The son of Rocknroll Hanover-Worldly Beauty, who is trained by Richard Norman for the World Of Rocknroll Stable of Flemington, New Jersey, is now a perfect two-for-two this season with $18,400 banked.
The final division went to Dreamlands Art, by Artsplace out of Dreamlands Delilah, in 1:51. Shoobees Place (Dave Miller) was the early leader but George Brennan sent Dreamlands Art to the top from third at the :27.4 quarter mark. The 3-1 second choice posted middle splits of :56.2 and 1:24.2 before he was put to the test. Shoobees Place popped the pocket in the stretch and Rockin Image (John Campbell) dove down along the pylons after travelling first up, but Dreamlands Art hung on with a :26.2 final frame for her second win in three starts this year. Rockin Image finished a half-length behind with Shoobees Place coming in third.
Dreamlands Art paid $8.80 to win. Keith Armer trains the North America Cup eligible, who is assessed at odds of 100-1 in Trot’s Spring Book. The lion’s share of the purse pushed Dreamlands Art’s seasonal earnings to $23,060 for Glenview Livestock Ltd. of Wallenstein, ON.
For recaps of Saturday's main events, the $220,000 Arthur J. Cutler Memorial for trotters and $200,000 Graduate for pacers, click here.
To view Saturday’s results, click here.