Coach Rocks rolls, but owner Pitino misses win

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Rick Pitino came to Gulfstream on Wednesday to watch Coach Rocks in a maiden race, but he failed to see the filly. Literally.

Pitino, the Hall of Fame college basketball coach currently living in Miami, experienced temporary blindness in his left eye and had to leave the track about an hour before Coach Rocks won the 1 1/16-mile race by eight lengths.

Pitino underwent emergency surgery for a retinal tear but is expected to fully recover, said Dale Romans, trainer of the 3-year-old Oxbow filly. Under his stable name, RAP Racing, Pitino owns Coach Rocks with Roddy Valente.

With ample time on his hands after being fired in September by the University of Louisville, Pitino, 65, has been a frequent visitor to Gulfstream this winter.