Rain, wind and a sloppy track was a winning combination for Rockstar Temper ($8.00) as he took the $10,500 Open Pace in convincing fashion at Buffalo Raceway on Saturday night (June 27), beating Unicorn Hanover by one and a half lengths in 1:58.1.
The heavily favoured Youwillwishyouhad (Kevin Cummings) was parked to the opening panel in the feature and needed a wicked :27.3 first split to reach the lead. The hot fractions of :58 and 1:28.3 over the sloppy going would eventually be costly for the front-runner.
Sand Savage (Jim McNeight) was first over going down the backstretch the final time and Rockstar Temper (Drew Monti) drafted perfectly behind.
The brutal times took their toll on Youwillwishyouhad as he threw in the towel at the top of the stretch and Sand Savage had enough as well.
Rockstar Temper in the meantime was loving the proceedings and rolled off cover to post the victory. Unicorn Hanover (David McNeight III) showed late kick to take second while Mr Perserverance (Shawn Gray) rode the pylons for third.
Owned by James Caradon and trained by Darrin Monti, Rockstar Temper has scored four victories in 18 appearances in 2015. The seven-year-old gelding (Rocknroll Hanover-Dragon Temper) has earned $43,520 this season and $333,414 lifetime.
Jokerman ($43.40) didn't joke around in the $9,500 Open II Pace by springing a one and a half length upset win over Beachfront in 1:57.2.
After watching a speed duel on the front end between Aint No Stoppin and I C D Moolah, Jokerman was in 'wait and see' mode. Waiting and seeing the speed crumble, Jokerman was three-wide and winging, rolling in the stretch for the win over Beachfront (McNeight III). Cobble Beach (Cummings) rallied for the show spot..
Co-owned by trainer Richard Roth along with Randy and Robert Roth, Jokerman has six victories on the season and $43,894 in the bank. The six-year-old gelding (American Ideal-Shark Tail) has now made $92,641 in his career.
(With files from Buffalo Raceway)