Driver Devon Tharps made sure his five rivals all took a seat behind six-year-old mare Rock It Out as she was on a speed mission to glory and prevailed in the $27,000 Open Pace at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel on Sunday afternoon (May 28).
Leaving from post four, Rock It Out cleared control past a :26.2 first quarter from No Lou Zing (driven by Kevin Wallis), who moved to retake before Tharps looked back at Wallis to make him think otherwise of that move. No Lou Zing stayed put from the pocket as Rock It Out plugged along to a :54.3 half and motored full throttle up the backstretch.
Rock It Out faced no challengers as she whipped by three-quarters in 1:22.4 and stretched her lead straightening for the finish. Tharps kept Rock It Out alive through the lane and she went to post a three-length victory in 1:51.1 with Im Sir Blake A (Atlee Bender), the 1-2 favourite, swooping the field from last to finish second. No Lou Zing settled for third and Isitlikeitlooks (Joey Putnam) levelled off in fourth.
Donna Holt conditions Rock It Out for owner D And R Racing Stable. She won her 26th race from 85 starts and has now banked $235,709. Rock It Out paid $19.24 to win.
Sunday's card featured a $3,780.30 carryover in the Late Pick 5, which prompted a $10,000 guaranteed pool. The pool saw $18,664 bet in new money for a total pool of $22,453. Rock It Out's victory in the feature opened the sequence and was followed by wins from DC Batgirl ($4.88 to win), KBssweetcaroline ($2.78) and Beach Pro ($19.16) before wrapping with a win by 1-5 choice Sports Teller ($2.74). A correct combination on a 50-cent ticket for the Late Pick 5 returned $564.75.
Racing resumes at Oak Grove on Monday for the finals of the Kentucky Sire Stakes. Four $150,000 finals will go to gate for each sex and gait of four-year-old, with finals carded as Race 1, Race 3, Race 4 and Race 7 on the 13-race Memorial Day card.
First-race post time at Oak Grove is 3 p.m. CDT (4 p.m. EDT).
(Oak Grove Racing)