GLOUCESTER, ON — Rideau Carleton Raceway wraps up an exciting weekend of Ontario Sires Stakes action with a pair of Gold Eliminations for the three-year-old pacing fillies on Sunday evening, and no one is more thrilled to have the talented group in Ottawa than Woodlawn resident Ed McHale.
“Eddie is pretty happy about his big mare coming home,” says trainer Rick Zeron, who shares ownership on sophomore pacing filly Rocket N Rollit with McHale. “He’s taking a whole herd of people up to the dining room on Sunday.”
A late blooming filly, Rocket N Rollit stormed onto the Gold Series scene with an elimination victory at Woodbine Racetrack on Aug. 1. She finished fifth in the Aug. 8 Final after being saddled with the nine-hole, and has strung together a win and a trio of third-place finishes against older company in the eight weeks since.
“We never thought she’d be this good. She was a little shaky at the beginning and made a few breaks, but we got her settled down and she’s coming into this race absolutely perfect,” says Zeron. “She’s very versatile, she can leave and she’s very fast, so you can come from the middle of the field.”
With Post 1 in the sixth race on Sunday, Zeron’s ideal tour around Rideau Carleton’s five-eighths oval would see him control the pace and cruise home a winner with plenty left in the tank for the Oct. 5 Gold Final.
“Right now the plan is to leave hard, make the front, get a breather somewhere along the way and go a mile in 1:53 or 1:54 with her,” says the Oakville resident. “She’s eighth (in the division standings) right now and we’ll see if we can improve on that a little bit.”
With 55 points earned through her win and fifth-place finish in the August Gold Series, Rocket N Rollit sits 22 points above the current cut off for the season ending Super Final and Zeron would like to see her pad that total as the fillies swing into the homestretch of their Ontario Sires Stakes season. However, if the Pacific Rocket daughter’s sophomore season concludes before the Nov. 8 Super Final, McHale and Zeron will simply turn their attention to what they expect will be an outstanding four-year-old campaign.
“She was late developing, she’s a big leggy filly, and I’m very optimistic that I’m not going out of my way in saying she could pace in 1:50 or 1:51 next year,” says the trainer-driver. “I’m sure she can go with the big girls.”
Among the big girls that Rocket N Rollit will face Sunday is Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association Stake winner Please Me Please from Post 2. Robert McIntosh of La Salle trains the Camluck lass for his partners Al McIntosh Holdings Inc. of Leamington and Dwight Stacey of Mitchell, and the veteran conditioner feels his filly is also rounding into form at the perfect time.
“She had a tough two-year-old campaign so I gave her extra time off,” explains McIntosh. “I didn’t start back with her until February so I think she is just getting tight.”
Also lining up on the starting gate in Race 6 is reigning Gold Final champion Jasper Avenue, who will be looking for a sizeable chunk of the $58,844 purse from Post 5.
Rideau Carleton Raceway opens its Sunday evening program at 6:30 pm, turning the spotlight on the gifted three-year-old pacing fillies in Races 6 and 8. The top four fillies from each elimination will return to the Gloucester oval on Sunday, Oct. 5 for the second last $130,000 Gold Final on their schedule.