by John Pawlak, the U.S. Trotting Association
Columbus, OH — With the arrival of colder weather has come a hot streak for Stephen Farrell’s Rockincam, whose three-for-three feature wins at Harrah’s Chester in the month just ended have been recognized with the Horse of the Month award for December, presented by the U.S. Trotting Association.
The 4-year-old son of Cambest-Migraine, a homebred foaled in Ocala, Fla., swept a trio of Chester’s $60,000 Open Handicap paces, demonstrating some versatility along the way.
To start the month, driver David Miller showed great patience by allowing Rockincam to dawdle in seventh in a field of eight before mounting a three-wide bid on the final turn that propelled them to a 1:49.2 victory — by 1-1/4 lengths.
No less impressive was a mid-pack trip on Dec. 11, in which Rockincam came clear by an identical margin, but this time posting a 1:49.1 victory.
December’s final trip wasn’t quite as swift — 1:51 in a December chill — but this win saw Rockincam lead every step of the way for Miller.
Earlier in his career, Rockincam flashed stakes ability with a close runner-up finish in the $300,000 Kentucky Sire Stakes final in 2010, and now closed his 2011 books with nine wins and $236,425 in 21 starts. Lifetime, the Richard Norman trainee has won 15 of 28 and $343,775.