by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Ken Weingartner, media relations manager for Harness Racing Communications, spent six weeks in 2007 following foaling activity at Perretti Farms in central New Jersey. On May 12, 2007 he was present for the birth of a pacing colt out of Worldly Beauty, by Rocknroll Hanover (see related articles at bottom of page). On July 16, 2009 the colt made his pari-mutuel debut at the Meadowlands Racetrack as part of the Erv Miller Stable.

Freehold, NJ — When the starting car goes into motion for Saturday night’s Metro Pace at Mohawk, World Of Rocknroll will have his nose on the gate. It’s still hard to believe he spent the first moments of his life with his nose on my chest.

This is it. This is the biggest prize — at least in terms of purse money — the sport offers a 2-year-old pacer. A cool million bucks. Even when the purse is converted from Canadian to U.S. dollars, it’s still cool.

It’s been a rocky road for Rocknroll getting to this point. He failed to advance to the Woodrow Wilson final after hitting more traffic in the stretch than one might find on the New Jersey Turnpike at rush hour. He followed that performance with a second-place finish to Woodstock (another Metro finalist) in an overnight at the Meadowlands and then had to overcome foot woes and sickness in last week’s Metro elims.

But here he is. And maybe his luck is beginning to change for the better. His foot seems improved, as does his health. And last weekend, lacking his usual pop at the end of the mile, World Of Rocknroll was fortunate no one closed from the back of the pack to steal his spot in the Metro final.

Tony Alagna

“We were happy with how he raced in his Metro elimination,” said Tony Alagna, who is Erv Miller’s assistant and one of the owners of World Of Rocknroll. “He left out of there good and let Malicious go on and got a good trip (in the No. 2 spot).

“Down there late by the wire I thought he should be able to follow that colt all the way to the wire, even though I know Malicious is a top colt. We think our horse is a top horse, as well. That’s the reason we scoped him. He had a 2.5 out of five on mucous, so we treated him all week for sickness. He seemed to have responded well.”

World Of Rocknroll also started to develop a quarter crack in his left front foot, but hydrotherapy treatments and blacksmith work seems to have the situation under control.

“We were able to get on it quickly enough that it didn’t open up all the way,” Alagna said. “It’s been very manageable so far.”

USTA/Ken Weingartner photos

World Of Rocknroll will score from the six hole in the Metro final.

The Metro field is loaded with talent, including three unbeatens — Malicious, Woodstock and Sportswriter — to go with New Jersey Sire Stakes champion Rock N Roll Heaven and well-regarded Delmarvalous.

And there was plenty of talent left on the sidelines, too. The top three finishers in the Woodrow Wilson — Windfall Blue Chip, Payne’s Landing and Lord Terror — failed to advance to the Metro final, as well as Battle of Waterloo champ Wellthereyougo and previously undefeated Dr Dreamy.

“To make the final speaks volumes,” Alagna said. “If (World Of Rocknroll) can work out a trip and pick up some money, that would be a great thing. Anything is possible. You’ve got to give him that opportunity. Our colt should be a little more acclimated to everything. We’re trying to have him as good as possible.

“It’s a tough bunch of colts,” he added. “It’s a really deep group. All these colts, for them to get to the final, they had to do something. It might be a surprise if some of them won, but it can’t be a complete surprise because they earned their spot.”

There is little doubt World Of Rocknroll will need to step up his game Saturday if he wants top honors. But he has hit the board in four of six starts and shown enough ability that with a trip he could be in the mix. Really, what more could anyone hope for than to just have a shot?

As Alagna said, “It’s not every day you go for a million dollars.”