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 colt out of Worldly Beauty, by Rocknroll Hanover (see related articles at bottom of page). Now, the colt is in training as part of the Erv Miller Stable.

Freehold, NJ — It is not difficult to get most horsemen to talk optimistically about their 2-year-olds right now. Hope (perhaps even hype) springs eternal. After talking last week to Tony Alagna about World Of Rocknroll, I’m feeling both — hopeful and hypeful.

Of course, I don’t have anything but pride invested in World Of Rocknroll. That’s good enough for me. The colt is well staked, with the Woodrow Wilson, Metro Pace, Breeders Crown, Governor’s Cup, Bluegrass and International Stallion stakes, and the New Jersey Sire Stakes all on his dance card. Now, it’s just a matter of hoping he’s the equine equivalent of Gene Kelly.

Winnie Gustafson photo

World Of Rocknroll takes to the track with Tony Alagna at the Southern Oaks Training Center.

“We like him,” said Alagna, who is Erv Miller’s assistant trainer and is working with World Of Rocknroll at the Southern Oaks Training Center in Florida. “He’s really a strong colt. He doesn’t look like a yearling anymore. He’s starting to look like an athlete; a racehorse. He’s got a long, powerful way of going. We’re pretty excited about him.”

World Of Rocknroll sold for $65,000 at the Standardbred Horse Sale. He is owned by Miller, Alagna, John Fodera, Mystical Marker Farms and Fidencio Cervantes. Following the sale, he had surgery to remove an OCD from his left hind ankle and spent 30 days in stall rest (with hand walking). He started training in early January.

The surgery is not much of a setback. Deuce Seelster, who Alagna trained early in his career, underwent a similar procedure before winning nine of 12 races and $639,241 as a 2-year-old in 2007.

“(World Of Rocknroll) is a little behind the other colts because of the surgery,” Alagna said. “He’s been a mile in 2:35, but he does it very nicely. Other colts have been a mile in 2:25, but three months down the road, that 10 seconds will be gone. When he came down here and we first started jogging him, he wasn’t as muscled up. He’s gotten taller and a little bit longer. He’s just really started to bloom the last couple weeks. He’s really muscling up nicely and looking like a mature horse.”

Speed, at this point, is not high on Alagna’s priority list.

“You’re not at the stage where you’re pushing to find out where that speed’s at right now. You’re just trying to get the foundation built,” Alagna said. “We’re looking at this stage for a horse that has the gait and the manners that are going to help that horse be a top performer later on in life. You can’t make that horse be that kind of horse. He has to have the innate ability to be smart enough and have the talent to take him to the next level.”

So far, Alagna likes what he sees from World Of Rocknroll when it comes to his gait and manners.

USTA/Ken Weingartner photo

World Of Rocknroll sold for $65,000 at last fall’s Standardbred Horse Sale.

“I think it’s paramount that a horse has manners to go to that next level,” Alagna said. “(World Of Rocknroll) is very mature in his gait and in the way he travels. He’s definitely a form-to-function type of horse. When you looked at him as a yearling he had a great presence, and he shows that on the track as well.”

World Of Rocknroll will be leaving Florida in mid-May and returning to New Jersey. The sire stakes begin in mid-July and the eliminations for the Woodrow Wilson are August 14.

“We can only set his schedule and he’s got to tell us if it’s going to fit him or not,” Alagna said. “It’s a baseline, but it’s not set in stone.”

At this point, I’m just anxious for World Of Rocknroll to return home and get started. It will be great to be able to visit him on a regular basis. Maybe I’ll even help with the final preparations for his campaign.

Or maybe not.

“I’ll probably let you clean his stall,” Alagna said.