After being fed a steady diet of overnight races through the first three months of live racing this winter, Rosecroft Raceway owners and spectators got their first glimpse of stakes action late last month when the five-eighths mile oval hosted a pair of $25,000 Maryland Sire Stakes events for older pacers and trotters.
Last Tuesday evening, Rosecroft hosted the first two Maryland Sire Stakes events of the season with one contest each for pacers and trotters. Each of the two events featured several proven commodities and one of them will soon be embarking on a campaign where she will face the best members of her gait in several lucrative stakes.
In the opening race on the card, Lloyd’s Loves (Trae Porter) lived up to her role as the overwhelming 1-9 favorite in the $25,600 Maryland Sire Stakes event for 4- and 5-year-old pacers when she led throughout to defeat several male rivals in 1:51.2. A four-year-old Rusty’s All In mare trained by Mike Hall for owners William J “Mac” MacMillan and Chris Devine, Lloyd’s Loves recorded her fourth straight score since being claimed for $24,000 and now owns seven wins and nearly $46,000 banked from 11 seasonal outings.
“She’s been really good ever since Mike claimed her,” catch driver Trae Porter said. “She’s given the same effort every. All four of her wins have been the same. She’s just raced at the same level each start.”
Then one race later in the $26,000 MDSS event for four- and five-year-old trotters of both genders, Call Me Goo (Tim Tetrick) easily lived up to her billing as the 1-5 favorite in her seasonal debut when she gained command passing the opening quarter and led throughout en route to a five-length score in 1:54.2, shattering the stakes and track record for her age and gait.
A four-year-old daughter of Googoo Gaagaa trained by Jason Skinner for owner Graham Grace Stables, Call Me Goo easily prevailed in her seasonal debut and now owns 17 wins and roughly $430,000 banked from 24 career outings. In each of her two previous seasons, Call Me Goo dominated the local MDSS events and now she will take her show on the road to face the best trotters in the country in the Miss Versatility and Graduate Series.
“I had the chance to drive her a couple of times at Hoosier last year and she showed me she was a very nice filly,” said Tetrick, who has committed to drive her in the grand circuit events. “She qualified really good last week and tonight she was perfect behind the gate. She was really good leaving and she rated perfect for me and finished with a lot of trot.”
Several races later in the weekly overnight feature for fillies and mares, Grace Rocks (Justin Walters) regained her winning ways when she gained command soon after the start, rebuffed an early challenge from Mystical View then held safe 4-5 favorite Square Deal for a length score in 1:51. A seven-year-old Rockin Image mare trained by George Lange for owner Howard Taylor, Grace Rocks notched her third win in six starts at the meet and now owns 30 wins and over $485,000 banked from 91 career outings.
One night earlier at Yonkers Raceway in New York, the two most lucrative races of the season to date had a distinctly Maryland flavor. Winbak Farm products Desperate Man and Covered Bridge were among the serious contenders in the $450,000 MGM Borgata Series final [formerly the George Morton Levy Memorial Series] for older free-for-all pacers.
Then in the $275,000 Blue Chip Matchmaker series final for fillies and mares, Incaseyoudidntknow (Tetrick) rallied from last on the far turn to finish sixth for Maryland co-owners Jim Magno and Joe Fonte. In the Borgata final, Hellabalou (Yannick Gingras) recorded his second straight tally in the final by rallying for a 1:50.2 score as Desperate Man settled for third as the even-money choice.
While Rosecroft offered live racing exclusively on Tuesday and Thursday evenings through April, the track will present its first of two Saturday cards tomorrow to coincide with the latest edition of the Kentucky Derby and then will offer another Saturday evening card on closing night, May 18, to coincide with Maryland’s biggest sporting event, the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.
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