Woodbine Mohawk Park: Redland Rocket Man launches in Simcoe Stakes

John Pentland trainee Redland Rocket Man ripped off a pocket trip to a world-record equaling mile when scoring in the Grade 3 C$140,000 Simcoe Stakes on Saturday night (Sept. 12) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Leaving from post four, driver Jody Jamieson jetted Redland Rocket Man to the top and yielded for a pocket ride once Beau Jangles loomed up the outside through a 26 1/5 first quarter. Jamieson tracked Beau Jangles to a 53 3/5 half and swung out of the pocket passing three-quarters in 1:20 4/5. Redland Rocket Man surged past Beau Jangles upon straightening for home and paced sturdily to the line chased home by Sweet Lovin Lou in second, beaten 1 3/4 lengths. Beau Jangles settled for third and Odds On Bullfrog took fourth.

"If we're being honest with ourselves, I think we were trying to be second to Beau Jangles in here, the way he came back and raced so great last week," Jamieson said after the race. "I think he came sub-26 seconds as well to beat us. But tonight I reversed it; I got to sit on somebody's back and it happened to be Beau. I thought around the last turn 'I've got a lot of horse here. But it's Beau, so he's going to go.' But then when I came out, I knew I had Beau immediately, and this horse just paced to the wire. I wasn’t even paying attention to the fractions, and when it flashed up [1:]46 4/5 I thought 'Wow.' Just wow."

Redland Rocket Man crushed the previous stake record of 1:48 2/5 set in 2015 by Artspeak and lowered the previous track and Canadian record for 3-year-old pacing geldings of 1:47 4/5 set in 2023 by Its My Show. He also equaled the world record for 3-year-old pacing geldings, set by Its My Show at The Red Mile in 2023, with just his second win from 12 starts this season and his fifth win from 24 starts in his career.

"He was raced right," trainer John Pentland said of the gelding's development. "We're more than halfway through the season, and when Jody unleashed him in Grand River, I think the horse was ready for it and he's showing it. That's four big starts in-a-row for him. I'm absolutely thrilled and shocked at getting a track record. When it popped up there, I thought 'did they beat [1:]48?' I didn’t know about [1:]46. He's just a great horse."

Pentland co-owns Redland Rocket Man, a Bulldog Hanover-Granny Hanover gelding, with partners Murray Cox and Gary Volpe. The gelding has earned C$523,885 in his career and paid $12.70 to win.

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Qued Up opened the stakes action on Saturday night with a stakes-record performance in the first of two C$86,000 divisions of the Champlain Stakes for 2-year-old pacing fillies. After drafting pace-setter Money Carlo through fractions of 27, 56 and 1:23 2/5, driver Louis-Philippe Roy lifted Qued Up from the pocket and slid to a length victory in a 1:49 4/5 mile, eclipsing the thrice matched stake mark of 1:50 2/5 established in 2012 by Captive Audience and equaled from 2022 to 2023 by Sylvia Hanover, Pass Line and It's A Love Thing. Money Carlo settled for second with Aceandaten third and Rockin Jade Deo fourth.

"I was just happy with the way the trip was going with a slow half," Louis-Philippe Roy said after the race. "Usually the one on the front or near the front have the advantage there. I knew the one on the front's a pretty nice filly. Mine started feeling really good, so I kind of took a shot. I was lucky to be able to move out late and never have to use my filly except for the last sprint."

Kyle Fellows trains Qued Up, a Cattlewash-Misqued filly, for owners N. Yolanda Fellows, Blair Corbeil, Windermere Stable LLC. and James Ross. She has now won two times from eight starts, has banked C$97,550 and paid $13.60 to win.

Trainer John Pentland earned another stake win earlier in the card when Bulldog Hanover-Gallie Beach filly Jersey Bulldog rolled down the road as the odds-on favorite to win the other Champlain dash for rookie pacing fillies. Bob McClure coasted on the point with Jersey Bulldog through a clip of 27 3/5, 57 and 1:25 1/5 before crossing the beam under wraps a 1 3/4 length winner over Boardwalk Babe in a 1:51 1/5 mile. Mauritius gave pursuit from third and Charolais Cattle levelled off from a first-up bid around the far turn for fourth.

"She was just kind of built like a 3-year-old right away and she was very mature," Bob McClure said after the race. "John's really good about never stressing them, never asking for speed. He's had a lot of success doing it that way, so you never know how much speed they have until they get to the races. This filly, it took a few starts for her to find that high gear, but once she found it the strength never went away, the gait never went away. She's been a real pro since day one.

"I never really asked her, just kept her attention," McClure also said. "She did get easy fractions, everything her own way, but she still had to finish the job. She was super strong to the wire, and one thing about John - he's very good at keeping them fresh through the whole season."

Pentland co-owns Jersey Bulldog with Sherri Sumner, Jack Darling Stables Ltd. and Alan Alber. The filly notched her fourth win from nine starts, pushed her career bankroll to C$206,720 and paid $2.30 to win.

Dr. Ian Moore pupil Cattletracks capitalized off quick fractions from a stalking trip to nab a career-best win in the lone C$158,000 division of the open Champlain Stakes for pacing 2-year-old males. Louis-Philippe Roy secured a mid-pack seat for Cattletracks to follow 25 4/5 and 53 2/5 splits cut from a battle between Mascarpone and Global Choice. Global Choice persisted while parked the first three-eighths to take the lead, but Mascarpone swiftly tipped from the pocket to attack around the last turn. All the while Roy floated to race behind Yes I Am Hanover on the rim and fanned towards the grandstand side rounding three-quarters in 1:22. Cattletracks soared through the stretch and kicked for a 3 1/2 length win, while odds-on favorite Atlas Ross rallied from farther back for second. No More Exs finished third and Yes I Am Hanover took fourth.

"He's been getting better every week," trainer Dr. Ian Moore said. "And most recently, I put earplugs in him tonight so he could race from off-the-pace. When you look in the program, the first few lines he went down the road a bit, and once he got fired up it was hard for Louis to do anything else with him. But boy, that was a really good trip tonight. I was really pleased with it all. I trained him this week and he trained super good. I've been training him from behind, and I think he's learning. We had a lot of problems with him in the spring, but everything's settled down now and it's all good, so we're looking forward to the next few races."

A Cattlewash-Ballineen colt, Cattletracks has now won three races from six starts and earned C$123,960 for owners Sally MacDonald and Paul MacDonald. He paid $13.20 to win. ​

--press release (Woodbine Mohawk Park)--