MANALAPAN,
NJ – September 7, 2013 – Gold Rocks and Ideal Helen were both easy winners in
their respective divisions of the Lou Babic Memorial on Saturday, September 7,
2013 at Freehold Raceway.
Gold
Rocks captured the $96,200 Babic Open in 1:54.4 while Ideal Helen annexed the
$61,900 Babic Filly in a stakes record 1:54.3.
Both
stakes are for New Jersey-sired two-year-old pacers.
Gold
Rocks [$2.20], a son of Rocknroll Hanover, was able to repel the challenge of
Useful Hanover [by Western Ideal, to win by four and a half lengths in the
ninth race. Rocknroll Reality [by Rocknroll Hanover] was third by seven
and a quarter.
George
Brennan was at the lines of the Tony Alagna-trained Gold Rocks, sent off at
odds of 1-9. The colt paced the mile in a career best 1:54.4.
Gold
Rocks picked up his second straight win in four tries and lifted his earnings
to $59,400 for Eagle Soar Partners, Alan Alber, Joe Sbrocco and Mystical Marker
Farms.
Ideal
Helen overcame a restart to win the Babic Filly, the third race, by
three-quarters of a length over Beautiful Lady [Rocknroll Hanover], whose
broken equipment caused the recall. Rosie De Vie [Western Ideal] was
third by eight and a half.
Ideal
Helen, a daughter of Western Ideal, settled into a two-hole trip until Marcus
Miller sent her after Beautiful Lady, who cut the fractions. The final
time of 1:54.3 eclipsed the stakes record of 1:55.1 set by Happy Dreamer in
2007.
Ideal
Helen now has three wins and two seconds in eight tries. She has banked
$72,380 for owner-breeder DR Van Witzenburg of Crest Hill, IL.
UPDATE
ON CAT MANZI & JEFF GREGORY
Both
Cat Manzi and Jeff Gregory remain hospitalized with fractures suffered in a
racing spill in Friday’s fourth race at Freehold Raceway.
Hall
of Famer Manzi suffered breaks on both sides of his pelvis.
His
wife, Ellen, reported Saturday morning that he was in a lot of pain, needed to
sleep and not up to receiving visitors.
Gregory
underwent a lengthy surgery on Friday night to repair a broken left elbow.
“It
was very difficult [surgery],” said Gregory’s wife, Helene. “The surgeon
said he had to call in a second doctor to help get all the pieces
together. The bone was shattered. But he said they got him wired up
and screwed tight so he sounded optimistic.”
--Submitted
by Carol Hodes for SBOANJ
