On Sunday, June 25, Running Aces’ $11,000 Open Handicap Pace for horses and geldings served as a homecoming for Roland N Rock to the Minnesota oval after a four-race stint at the Iowa fairs.
Roland N Rock ($2.80) brought a five-race win streak into the Sunday Open and ultimately extended the string to six.
Roland N Rock, pictured victorious at Running Aces
With pilot Nick Roland in tow, Roland N Rock left sharply from Post 6 in the eight-horse contest and secured the pocket. The duo tracked the leader, Easy Again (driven by Rick Magee) from the garden spot through very soft early fractions (:28 and :57.1).
Roland and his mount waited patiently as the tempo quickened after a :27.3 third quarter, and the dynamic duo found clear sailing at the top of the stretch. They easily powered past Easy Again for the victory and completing a driving grand slam for Roland. Ragins Flight (Steve Wiseman) got up for third in the 1:52.3 mile.
Roland N Rock is owned and trained by Duane Roland, and also owned by Connie Roland. The Iowa superstar now sports 46 lifetime wins from his 88 starts, and has bankrolled $471,307.
The $13,000 Minnesota-Sired Three-Year-Old Trot was also a featured event on the card, and the filly Imapixieatmidnight ($3.20) posted another very sharp performance as the favourite to make it two wins in a row in the class. She recorded a six and a quarter-length tally in a new lifetime mark of 2:00.2 for Set The Pace Racing, LLC.
The next card of live racing at Running Aces will head to post on Tuesday night (June 27) at 7:00 p.m. (CDT) with a carryover in the 20-cent Jackpot Pick-5 wager of $1,422.90 and a carryover for the Race 11 hi-5 wager of $1,490.01.
(With files from Running Aces)