Anderson, IN — Little Rocket Man continued his Midwest dominance, reeling off his fourth straight victory in the $165,000 Hoosier Park Pacing Derby on Friday night (Sept. 20) at Harrah’s Hoosier Park.
Little Rocket Man’s (David Miller) path to the lead wasn’t an easy one as Coach Stefanos (Trace Tetrick) and It’s My Show (Scott Zeron) both fired off the gate, jostling for position through the stretch for the first time.
Tetrick worked past It’s My Show entering the first turn and was able to clear the lead before a testing :26.2 opening quarter. The lead was short lived, however, with Abuckabett Hanover (Dexter Dunn) motoring to the lead into the backstretch after being parked for much of the first quarter.
“The first quarter wasn’t that hard on him,” said Miller. “Dexter got to the lead pretty easy, and with Yannick on my wheel, I had to make a decision, either sit or move.”
Miller tipped Little Rocket Man from fourth at three-eighths, working his way to the lead past the half in :54.2. Miller tried his best to get a breather in the third quarter, but Backstreet Shadow (Andrew McCarthy) at long odds made a big move midway around the far turn.
Into the stretch, Little Rocket Man put away Backstreet Shadow, but the fresh legs of Bythemissal (Yannick Gingras) were waiting in the wings through the final eighth of a mile. Through the stretch, Little Rocket Man had more in the tank, digging in impressively to win in 1:48.1. Abuckabett Hanover rallied off the pocket trip to be second, Bythemissal fought gamely, but had to settle for third, with Dunkin’ (Tim Tetrick) finishing fourth.
“He felt pretty comfortable down the stretch, the horses were coming to him, and I was probably getting more nervous than he (Little Rocket Man) was, but he didn’t let me down,” said Miller.
The victory pushed Little Rocket Man’s career earnings to $1,544,799 as he earned his eleventh victory in thirteen starts this season. The 8-year-old son by Rockin Image is trained by Ken Rucker and owned by Russell Beeman and Jack Freeman.