Rocket Heat tries to ration speed in Clocker's Corner
ARCADIA, Calif. – Rocket Heat is one fast dude. On Sunday at Santa Anita, his challenge is to carry his speed 6 1/2 furlongs on turf in the $75,000 Clocker’s Corner Stakes.
“He looks like he’s a five-furlong specialist, he’s so fast,” Rocket Heat’s trainer, Vann Belvoir, said. “But he actually has a little bit of a kick, even going fast.”
Seven of the 10 Clocker’s Corner entrants already have won stakes, but none is as quick as Rocket Heat. In his first stakes last out, he set the pace to deep stretch of the Grade 3 Daytona but was nailed late. Rocket Heat finished third, arguably running the best race.
A change in circumstances Sunday favors the front-runner. The race is the second start for Rocket Heat since reuniting with jockey Edwin Maldonado, and the rails are at 30 feet out, a configuration that can benefit speed. The rails were at zero for the Daytona.
Rocket Heat will face a good field. His rivals include Coastline, the Daytona runner-up; Ocho Ocho Ocho, a Grade 3 winner likely to improve in his second start back; European import Cape Wolfe; Silentio, a Grade 2 route winner; and the deep closer Home Run Kitten, a Grade 3 winner.
The key for Rocket Heat is the start.
“He’s just got to get out of the gate,” Belvoir said. “That’s the key for him; he’s always a step slow.”
Clocker’s Corner, Race 7
KEY CONTENDERS
Rocket Heat (Last 3 Beyers: 92-95-71)
◗ Belvoir and owner Mike Sanchez claimed Rocket Heat from his second start, a $30,000 maiden-claiming race he won by nine lengths. Since then, Rocket Heat has won four races and $173,050.
◗ Sired by Latent Heat and produced by the multiple graded stakes winner Enjoy the Moment, Rocket Heat and Maldonado break from the rail.
◗ Following his third in the Daytona, Maldonado told Belvoir: “I understand the horse now.” Belvoir believes Maldonado can ration Rocket Heat’s speed.
◗ Five turf sprints were run at this meet with the rails at 30 feet out. Two were won by the pacesetter; three were won by pressers.
Coastline (Last 3 Beyers: 92-77-91)
◗ A 52-1 outsider in the Daytona, which was his first for trainer Phil D’Amato, Coastline flew late and finished second by a neck behind the D’Amato-trained Toowindytohaulrox.
“The only thing that surprised me was the odds,” D’Amato said. “He reminded me of [Grade 1 winner] Ever a Friend. That’s how good he trained. And he loves that hill.”
◗ Tyler Baze rides Coastline, who was fanned extremely wide into the lane in the Daytona.
Ocho Ocho Ocho (Last 3 Beyers: 77-86-82)
◗ He finished ninth in his first start following a seven-month layoff, after which trainer Jim Cassidy said, “The race really woke him up. He’s tearing down the barn.”
◗ Ocho Ocho Ocho posted three sharp works since he last raced.
Cape Wolfe (No U.S. starts)
◗ This European-bred gelding is making his U.S. debut for D’Amato. “I think he’ll come running late; he might be more of a miler.”