Dee Rocks asserted her divisional dominance over the two-year-old pacing fillies in the Hoosier state as she turned in another impressive performance Thursday to capture the $75,000 Indiana Sires Stakes Final for two-year-old filly pacers at Hoosier Park.
With regular pilot Sam Widger in the bike, Dee Rocks went wire-to-wire in a 1:52.3 open length romp and with it, recorded her fourth consecutive victory and established a new lifetime best in the process.
Widger took no chances and sent his 2-5 favourite straight to the front from post six. A host of others in the field also left aggressively but Dee Rocks would win the early tussle to grab command just before the first quarter in :27.1. Concertinas Image and Peter Wrenn benefitted from a pocket trip while GW Show Faith and Ricky Macomber, Jr. were next in line third.
Dee Rocks clicked off fractions of :55.3 and 1:24.2 before ever feeling a threat from the rest of the field. Turning for home, Voom Or Bang and John DeLong were on the attack first-over but they were no match for the leader.
Utilizing a :28.1 final quarter, Dee Rocks coasted on to the wire under a hand drive to finish four lengths in front of Voom Or Bang. Concertinas Image finished third. As the heavy betting favourite, Dee Rocks returned $2.80 at the betting windows.
“She was very sharp tonight,” Wider noted after the win. “Last week she had trouble with her hobbles and still got the job done. Tonight, she was perfect; I couldn’t have asked her to be any better.”
Trained by Dossie Minor, the homebred daughter of Rockin Image-Incredible Katie is owned by Ronald Phillips and John Carver. Dee Rocks has now won ten of eleven lifetime outings while amassing $164,000 in lifetime purse earnings. Her only off the board finish came after a disqualification for interference.
Live racing at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino will continue on Friday, September 15 with a 14-race card featuring the $75,000 Indiana Sires Stakes Final for three-year-old colt and gelding pacers.
(With files from Hoosier Park)