By Ray Cotolo, for The Red Mile
LEXINGTON, KY— Sophomore filly pacers were in
competition at The Red Mile on Saturday, Oct. 10 with two divisions of the
$232,000 Glen Garnsey Memorial.
Rock Me Gently upset the first division at odds
of 17-1 by springing from the back off a fast pace. The speed was established
by Bettor Be Steppin, taking the lead through a :26.3 first quarter. Storm
Point flushed first over from fourth and pressured the pace into splits of
:54.1 and 1:22.1, remaining game in the stretch drive. Wicked Little Minx slid
by from off cover and took the lead at mid stretch, losing it to Rock Me Gently
who surged by easily to take the top spot. Wicked Little Minx finished second,
Daut Full was third.
From the first crop of Rock N Roll Heaven out of
the Cambest mare Cam Swifty, Rock Me Gently races for the interests of Old
Block Stables Inc., The Fra Stables LLC, and Kenneth Klein and conditioner
Steve Elliot. She was driven by David Miller to her fifth win in 15 starts this
year. She paid $37.40 to win.
“She raced really good at Chester [Harrah’s
Philadelphia] the last time I raced her,” David Miller said. “I wasn’t for sure
that this was a big step up in class, but she raced very well; I had live cover
right into the race and she did the rest.”
“The track’s in great shape today,” Miller also
said.
The Joe Holloway-trained Divine Caroline was
carried by cover towards the lead and maintained the front to win the second
division of the Glen Garnsey Memorial in 1:49.2. After a quarter in :26.3 set
by Moremercy Bluechip, Divine Caroline tracked Band Of Angels following a brief
loss in stride on the backstretch. She followed Band Of Angels from second over
past a :54 half and a 1:22.1 third-quarter before circling her to take the
lead. Band Of Angels fought to her inside, but soon began to falter, while
Devil Child roared from the back of the pack and down the center of the track to
challenge Divine Caroline in the final stages of the mile, coming within a
length of the winner.
Bedroomconfessions finished third.
Owned by Val D’Or Farms, Ted Gewertz, Rojan
Stables and Michael Ouriel and driven by David Miller, Divine Caroline returned
$4.00 to win in her fifth victory in 18 tries this year. She’s by Rock N Roll
Heaven, out of the Art Major mare Loving Caroline.
“Overall, David [Miller] did a fantastic job
[getting her a trip], and I don’t say that too often,” Joe Holloway said. “But
he did a great job. The filly has had issues jumping shadows when she was
younger, and then with this racetrack and the bright sunny day, we knew there
was going to be some [shadows]. They got jammed up, and he had to tip her out.
When he did it, there was a big shadow right there and then when he had her
attention, it was fine.”
When asked about Bettor Be Steppin following her
off-the-board finish in the first division, Holloway said “Yeah, she came out
okay. She needs different racing tactics, so Corey [Callahan] will adjust, and
we’ll try something different next time.”
“We’ll stay here until Wednesday and then head
up to Canada,” Holloway also said.
