Prairie: Raving Rocket ships in

ALTOONA, Iowa - Raving Rocket returns from a three-month layoff and heads a field of nine 2-year-old colts and geldings entered in the $40,000 Prairie Meadows Freshman Stakes.

Raving Rocket scored a gate-to-wire 9 3/4-length win over maiden special weight company in his debut at Arlington on May 31, going 4 1/2 furlongs over a sloppy racing surface.

Trained by Larry Rivelli, Raving Rocket earned a solid 77 Beyer Speed Figure for his debut win but has not raced since.

Rivelli has put a solid series of works into Raving Rocket in preparation for his return to the races, culminated by a 35-second three-furlong breezing blowout Friday morning at Arlington. E.T. Baird, who rode Raving Rocket in his only start, will be in from Chicago for the mount in the six-furlong Freshman.

City Code, who scored an easy seven-length maiden win at Remington Park one month ago, ships in for trainer Donnie K. Von Hemel. That race was City Code's second lifetime start and his first on Lasix. Don Pettinger has a return call.

Donnie's brother Kelly Von Hemel also has a leading contender in the locally based Okie Dozer, who captured the $50,000 Iowa Stallion Futurity here Aug. 14.

Okie Dozer added blinkers in the Stallion Futurity and raced much more professionally, scoring by a half-length for his second win in three career starts. Perry Compton picks up the mount on Okie Dozer, the 122-pound highweight.