Delaware County Fair: Redland Rocket Man reigns supreme in Grade 1 Little Brown Jug

Supplemental entrant Redland Rocket Man rallied from off-the-pace to take his $50,000 elimination and then went down the road from the pole position in the $550,000 final of the Grade 1 Little Brown Jug for 3-year-old male pacers on Thursday at the Delaware (Ohio) County Fair.

The eliminations saw Al Papi (Yannick Gingras) tally on the engine in 1:51 1/5 and then Redland Rocket Man (Jody Jamieson) sweep into the lead off a contested pace and pull away to a 1:50 2/5 victory. Redland Rocket Man got post one in the final with Al Papi, Watch Em Win (Chris Page), Frantic Hanover (Tim Tetrick), Treacherous Lou (Andy McCarthy), Melillo (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.), Thai Hanover (Dexter Dunn) and Fragment (Jason Bartlett) to his outside). Ron Burke sent out four of the finalists - Al Papi, Watch Em Win, Frantic Hanover and Melillo.

In the final Redland Rocket Man was off the gate just a bit at the start and was nearly looped by Al Papi before the first turn. However, Jamieson put the pedal down and was able to get a leaving Melillo in the pocket and Al Papi into the three-hole on the opening bend. Redland Rocket Man would then get to the quarter in 26 3/5 and the half in 55 3/5 as Gingras sent Al Papi to the outside prior to that latter marker.

Al Papi challenged Redland Rocket Man around the third turn and to three-quarters in 1:22 3/5, but Redland Rocket Man put him away early on the far turn before he drew off to score by 4 1/4 lengths. Melillo was second over Al Papi with Fragment (Jason Bartlett) up for fourth from post eight. Watch Em Win was the fifth-place finisher.

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"It's amazing. I don't know how many guys have won twice, and I don't know if it's ever been that far apart, almost 20 years ago," said Jamieson, who also won the Little Brown Jug in 2007 with Tell All. "I guess it's just a microcosm of what my career's been. I was really hot 19 years ago and not so much since, but having the last couple of years has been pretty amazing.

"I thought I had my horse ready to leave and I didn't, and (Gingras) near got around me. If he gets around me, I don't know how this race goes. I felt like I had the best horse going into the race, but it was until the first turn until I knew that I was going to secure the lead. Melillo was out there, and I know they're both entries. I figured he was going to drop on my back to give Al Papi a good shot at me, and that's exactly how it worked out, but there were some anxious moments just through the stretch here for the first time."

Trainer John Pentland also co-owns Redland Rocket Man, a Bulldog Hanover gelding, with partners Murray Cox and Gary Volpe.

"He trained down really well. He kind of let you know he was a good horse," recalled Pentland. "He had a little bit more of a hold of you, not a runaway, but a little bit more of a hold of you than you wanted, even in 2:40. He had a big, long stride, and he was easy to work with. He wanted to win. I didn't have a horse that could even start him.

"I think for pacing, it's the biggest race. It goes for basically the same money as any of the other top, top races, but there's far more prestige. Even going two trips, it's so rare now, but it shows the character of a horse. As a Canadian, I'm a very, very proud Canadian. I know at home, us Canadians, we were all rooting for this horse."

Bred by Redland Farms, Redland Rocket Man was a $30,000 purchase at the 2024 Standardbred Horse Sale. He has a summary of 7-3-3 from 26 starts, has earned $677,065 and paid $4.80 to win in his elimination and $3.20 to win in the final.

"I had a good friend that said this here horse might turn out pretty well and knew John Pentland was one of the best trainers in the business. I knew he would do the best he could with him," remarked Cox. "Jody Jamieson, I've known him for a long while, and his father, so we were quite happy with that group to be able to associate with them."