Rock N Tony turned in a dominant performance to take home top honours in the $75,000 Indiana Sires Stakes final for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings on Friday, June 2 at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino.
Scoring in 1:51.1 with Trace Tetrick in the bike, Rock N Tony recorded his fourth consecutive win at Hoosier Park and made a clean sweep of the first round of Indiana Sires Stakes action this season.
Leaving from post two in a talented field of 10, Rock N Tony was unhurried from the gate and settled along the rail in third. Limited Edition and Todd Warren left aggressively from post six to get the first call through the opening panel in :27. Always B Magic and Brandon Bates grabbed a pocket seat but were out and taking aim at the leader approaching the half in :55.2.
Unwilling to wait any longer, Tetrick gave Rock N Tony the green light down the backside and he exploded to the lead as the field approached the final turn. Rock N Tony reached the third station in 1:23.4 and looked strong on the front. Turning for home, Incredible Shark and LeWayne Miller were on the attack first-over with On The Virg and Tyler Smith in tow. Incredible Shark appeared to be gaining on the leader but Rock N Tony wasn’t finished.
Using a :27.2 final quarter, Rock N Tony cruised on to the wire nearly two lengths in front of his next closest competitor. Limited Edition rallied well to get up for second place honours while Incredible Shark held on gamely for third.
As the 1-5 heavy betting favourite, Rock N Tony returned $2.60 to his backers at the betting windows.
“He’s a professional in every sense of the word,” Tetrick noted in the winner’s circle. “He does everything right and does everything you ask of him. He’s getting stronger with every start and really is a pleasure to drive.”
Trained by Erv Miller, the three-year-old gelded son of Rockin Image-Pandemonious recorded his 10th lifetime win from 17 starts. Owned by Anthony Lombardi and Rocco Ruffolo, Rock N Tony pushed his lifetime earnings to $291,662 with the victory.
It was a training double and driving double for the Erv Miller-Trace Tetrick team as they also scored with Meadowbrook Tiger in the $25,000 Indiana Sires Stakes consolation for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings earlier on in the card. Scoring in 1:50.4, Meadowbrook Tiger recorded his third win from four seasonal starts.
The stakes action will continue at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino on Saturday, June 3 with a 12-race card featuring the $75,000 Indiana Sires Stakes Final for three-year-old pacing fillies. First race post time is 6:30 p.m.
(With files from Hoosier Park)