Rock Fall tries to one-up his father
ELMONT, N.Y. – Eleven years after his father, Speightstown, won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and was crowned champion sprinter, Rock Fall will try to follow suit. On Saturday, Rock Fall will try to do the one thing Speightstown couldn’t back in 2004: win the Grade 1 Vosburgh at Belmont Park.
Rock Fall will be heavily favored to do just that when he meets six opponents in the $400,000 Vosburgh, which awards its winner a fees-paid berth in the $1.5 million Sprint at Keeneland on Oct. 31.
In 2004, Speightstown went 5 for 6, including victories in the Grade 2 True North at Belmont and the Grade 2 Alfred G. Vanderbilt at Saratoga. In the Vosburgh, Speightstown stumbled at the break and finished third to Pico Central before bouncing back to take the BC Sprint at Lone Star Park, trainer Todd Pletcher’s first Breeders’ Cup success.
Pletcher trains Rock Fall, who is following a pattern similar to Speightstown’s. After allowance wins at Gulfstream and Keeneland in March and April, Rock Fall won the True North here on June 5, followed by the Alfred G. Vanderbilt, now a Grade 1, at Saratoga on Aug. 1. He skipped the Grade 1 Forego – as did Speightstown – by design.
“The one thing I’ve learned from Speightstown is with these sprinters, even though it’s a short distance, they give you big efforts,” Pletcher said. “He’s coming off two huge races. I just felt like squeezing one more in could be a mistake. He’s another that runs well fresh. We just want to continue to do what works well for him.”
When he won the True North, Rock Fall had the outside post in a seven-horse field. On Saturday, Rock Fall again breaks from the outside post in a seven-horse field, and he should be laying just off the speed. Identifying the pacesetter is not easy, though Weekend Hideaway is a prime candidate.
Palace and Salutos Amigos are both graded stakes winners who are off form. Stallwalkin’ Dude, second to Rock Fall in the True North, is coming off a narrow victory in a listed stakes at Saratoga. Wildcat Red and Brothersofthetime complete the lineup.
KEY CONTENDERS
Rock Fall (Last 3 Beyers: 106-110-109).
◗ Has won six consecutive races since losing his debut at Gulfstream in April 2014. He is 3 for 3 at Belmont.
◗ Has enough speed to sit right off the pace. Won a maiden race here in May 2014 while on the lead.
Palace (Last 3 Beyers: 89-93-97)
◗ Stumbled and grabbed a quarter severely when finishing third as the favorite in the John Morrissey Stakes for New York-breds at Saratoga on July 30. Trainer Linda Rice was planning to skip this race until Palace put in a sharp breeze last weekend.
“Saratoga was a mess,” Rice said. “He fell out of the gate and hurt himself. I spent weeks and weeks healing him up. Now I’ve gotten three breezes under his belt; the last one was pretty good. Is he at his best? Probably not. But he’s close enough to take a stab at it.”
Salutos Amigos (Last 3 Beyers: 95-99-106)
◗ From Aug. 31, 2014, through June 28, 2015, he earned eight triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures from nine races. He has gone off form, with a fourth in the Vanderbilt and a fifth in the Forego.
◗ Finished fourth, beaten two lengths by Private Zone, in this race last year.