Most of the attention was on the 27th edition of the $225,000 Dan Patch Stakes, but it was Indiana sired Little Rocket Man that stole the show in the 24th edition of the $39,000 Gregg Haston Memorial. The race is tradition along with the Dan Patch Stakes and is held on Dan Patch Night each year to honor Carmel, Ind. native Gregg Haston, who was killed in a car accident just days after competing in the 1996 Dan Patch at Harrah’s Hoosier Park.
Little Rocket Man and Trace Tetrick are shown winning earlier this year at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. The Indiana sired four-year-old now has a mark of 1:47.2. Photo by Dean Gillette
The Gregg Haston Memorial was the precursor to the Dan Patch Stakes with Little Rocket Man and Trace Tetrick shooting to the lead from the start, turning in a first quarter of :26.0. He kept a strong hold of Tetrick through middle fractions and then completed his mile with another :26.0 final quarter for the two and one-half length win in 1:47.2, a new career best time. GD Western Joe and Matt Kakaley finished second over Brassy Hanover and Scott Zeron for third.
Owned by Russ Beeman and Jack Freeman, Little Rocket Man was not the favorite of the field, paying $6.00, $4.40, $2.40 across the board. The four-year-old son of Rockin Image, bred by Victory Hill Farm Inc., now has 15 wins in 22 career starts and is nearing $250,000 in career earnings. Missy Essig handles the training duties for Little Rocket Man. He is four for five in 2020.
Century Farroh and David Miller were victorious in the Dan Patch Stakes in the very next race. The duo sat third for most of the mile while Bettor’s Wish and Dexter Dunn set fractions of :25.3, :54.1 and 1:22.2. Century Farroh got shuffled a little before he was able to break loose and pace home in :26.0 for the win by a half-length in 1:49.0. Bettor’s Wish finished second over Dorsoduro Hanover and Matt Kakaley finished third.
Century Farroh was also not the favorite, paying $8.60, $3.80, $3.00 across the board. The four-year-old Mach Three horse is owned by Ratchford Stable NS of Nova Scotia and trained by Dr. Ian Moore. The Ontario-bred boosted his career earnings to more than $900,000 in earnings and picked up his second win in eight starts for 2020.