Ness banks on class running Repo Rocks on grass
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Repo Rocks, a hard-knocking 7-year-old gelding, will switch surfaces for his return to stakes company Friday at Colonial Downs. The two-time graded stakes winner has done all of his best running on dirt, but trainer Jamie Ness believes he can handle state-restricted turf rivals in the $125,000 Edward P. Evans Stakes.
“It’s not the strongest field for a stakes race, and he’s been running against really good horses in New York and around,” Ness said. “I know the surface isn’t ideal, but I hope his class will prevail.”
Over the course of his 51-race career, Repo Rocks has only run on turf four times and has never finished in the money. The appeal for Ness is clearly not the surface, but the state-restricted competition.
Three rivals in the field of seven last ran for claiming tags under $25,000, while 6-year-old gelding Buddy Buddy has been running in state-restricted starter allowances on dirt in West Virginia. Despite his lack of success on turf, Repo Rocks is the 6-5 morning-line favorite.
King Covee, a 5-year-old gelding trained by Phil Schoenthal, will be the likeliest challenger to Repo Rocks coming off back-to-back runner-up finishes in starter allowances at Aqueduct. He is cross-entered in the $125,000 Punch Line later on the Friday card, but if he runs in the Evans, the turf sprinter will stretch out to 1 1/16 miles.
Schoenthal said that he will make his final decision on Friday morning. If Repo Rocks and Determined Kingdom, the favorite in the Punch Line, both remain in their respective fields, Schoenthal may take the risk at a longer distance against Repo Rocks, a more vulnerable favorite on turf. If poor weather forces both races to dirt, Repo Rocks would become an overwhelming threat and scare his biggest turf rival back to his usual sprint distance.
Punch Line Stakes
Determined Kingdom, a 6-year-old trained by Mike Trombetta, will try to become a four-time winner of the $125,000 Punch Line Stakes at Colonial Downs on Friday. The Virginia-bred seems poised for his first victory since switching barns over the winter.
Trombetta said that he has been content with the gelding’s progress this year, though he still has no explanation for his sixth-place finish in the $100,000 King T. Leatherbury in April. He has improved in two starts since, most recently finishing second in the $100,000 Ben’s Cat.
“I hope he runs as good as he did last time or even a little better,” Trombetta said. “It seems like he’s run good on that turf down there before. He’s training well and seems to be doing good.”
The 4-5 morning-line favorite, Determined Kingdom has six wins at Colonial, with three of them coming in the Punch Line. Facing state-restricted rivals has always been a short path to the winner’s circle for him, and this 5 1/2-furlong homecoming is supremely well-timed.
Just as he could upend Repo Rocks in the Evans on Friday, cross-entered gelding King Covee also is the likeliest contender to upset Determined Kingdom. Though he only has one victory in 18 career starts, he ran the best race of his career for Schoenthal in the Punch Line last year, finishing second by 1 1/4 lengths.
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