Rocketry moved with a strong kick down the middle of the Keeneland stretch and blew past an already fierce stretch battle on Friday to win the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes, formerly known as the Marathon Stakes, on the Breeders' Cup undercard.
With the victory, the 6-year-old son of Hard Spun became the first horse to win two editions of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes, which began its life in 2008 as the Breeders' Cup Marathon, and was moved to the undercard in 2014 and named simply the Marathon Stakes. He previously won the race in 2018 at Churchill Downs, which was his first win prior to Friday's race, nine starts earlier.
Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. put the brakes on Rocketry immediately out of the gate, and settled him last by a wide margin as the field made its first trip across the backstretch. On the front end, Dack Janiel's, Signalman and Plus Que Parfait battled for the lead. That trio led the field into the first turn in an opening quarter of :24.40 seconds, and the order remained largely unchanged when the mile pole went by in 1:38.54.
While Ortiz started moving Rocketry into contention on the outside, Danny California introduced himself to the lead pack, which saw Dack Janiel's holding the rail valiantly as 1 1/4-miles ticked off in 2:03.81. With three-sixteenths to go, jockey Declan Cannon appeared to have Dack Janiel's kicking away from the field, but the Argentine-born Mirinaque staged a mid-pack move and drew even with a sixteenth to go.
By the time those two drew even, Rocketry was already dialed in to challenge the leaders, and he blew by them in the closing strides to win by a length. Mirinaque carried on for second, a length ahead of Dack Janiel's. Post time favorite Cupid's Claws was never a serious threat, and finished 12th in the 14-horse field.
Winning for owner Centennial Farms and trainer Jimmy Jerkens, Rocketry completed the 1 5/8-mile race in 2:42.57 over a fast main track. He paid $25.20 to win, and triggered a trifecta of long odds, winning as an 11-1 shot over horses running at 33-1 and 53-1.
With the victory, Rocketry improved his career record to six wins in 28 career starts for earnings of $789,710.
Bred in Kentucky by Gainesway Thoroughbreds Ltd., Rocketry is out of the winning Smart Strike mare Smart Farming. He was a $450,000 purchase by Centennial Farms at the 2015 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
To view the race's chart, click here.
Quotes from the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes, courtesy of the Keeneland Notes Team:
Jimmy Jerkens (trainer of winner Rocketry): “He ran so bad last time (third in the Sept. 18 Miner's Mark Stakes at Belmont). He came out of it with a real bad out-of-whack blood count. I was scratching my head. It looked like he was training good into it, and he ran so flat. We freshened him up. Didn't train him quite as hard, just tried to put some flesh on him. It looked like it was a good lively race for this far, and that's what he needs.”
“He was doing better overall than he was last time, and the horses came back to him last time. Which is what he needs. He sat way back off an honest pace. He needs to see them coming back to him, and that's what happened.”
On what's next for Rocketry?
“I don't know. We're going to enjoy this for a while. Centennial (Farms), they've been wonderful, loyal owners. We've had a bad year; for them to win this race was huge for both of us.”
Irad Ortiz Jr. (winning rider): “We broke out of the gates – and he doesn't have too much speed – so I let him settle. He relaxed so well. By the five-eighths pole, he started picking it up on his own and he was moving really good. When I asked him going by the three-eighths pole, he responded really well. He likes this kind of race, with the long distance, and he ran great. He was picking up a ton of ground in the stretch, so I knew I had a good shot to get there.”
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