C Z Rocket | Horse Racing Free Tips

C Z Rocket Gets The Best Of Whitmore Again In Count Fleet Sprint Handicap

Winning for the seventh time in eight races since being claimed for $40,000 last April, the 7-year-old City Zip gelding C Z Rocket defeated sprint champion Whitmore for the second time in a row on Saturday, taking the Grade 3, $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap by two lengths at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark.

Ridden by Florent Geroux and trained by Peter Miller, C Z Rocket sped six furlongs in 1:09.62 on a fast track and paid $6 to win as the second choice in the wagering. He carried 122 pounds, one less than Whitmore, the 123-pound highweight.

Even-money favorite and local hero Whitmore, an 8-year-old by Pleasantly Perfect trained by Hot Springs resident Ron Moquett, finished second. Empire of Gold was third, another 1 1/2 lengths back, with Strike Power fourth, Mojo Man fifth, Mr. Jagermeister sixth and pacesetter No Parole last in the field of seven older runners.

The victory was the 11th in 25 career starts for C Z Rocket, who was bred in Florida by Farm III Enterprises LLC and sold for $800,000 to Frank Fletcher Racing Operations at the OBS June Sale of 2-year-olds in training in 2016.

C Z Rocket won his first three starts as a 3-year-old when racing for Fletcher and trainer Al Stall Jr. but was claimed from an April 30 race at Oaklawn that would be his 11th consecutive defeat. The City Zip gelding turned around quickly for Miller, winning a $50,000 claiming race at Churchill Downs, two allowance/optional claiming races and then scoring in the G2 Pat O'Brien Stakes at Del Mar for his first graded stakes triumph. He then won the G2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship but was defeated by Whitmore when second in the G1 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Keeneland. C Z Rocket turned the tables on Whitmore last out in the Hot Springs Stakes at Oaklawn, then doubled down with his Count Fleet victory.

C Z Rocket races for Madaket Stables LLC, Gary Barber and Tom Kagele.

In the Count Fleet, C Z Rocket broke well but was eased back off the pace in sixth as No Parole went quickly early, going :21.92 for the opening quarter and :45.35 for the half. Whitmore raced close to the front-runner down the backstretch and into the far turn and found a seam on the inside as the field hit the stretch.

Geroux swung C Z Rocket five wide at the top of the stretch and he quickly overtook the front-runners, winning with relative ease under a hand ride late from his jockey after passing the furlong pole in :57.53 for five furlongs.

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Shades Of ‘Ali-Frazier’: Whitmore, C Z Rocket Up For Rematch In Count Fleet

So far, Whitmore and C Z Rocket have fought to a split decision. Round 3 is Saturday at Oaklawn when they tangle again in the $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) for older sprinters at 6 furlongs.

“They're two warriors,” said Peter Miller, trainer of C Z Rocket. “It's Ali-Frazier. It's going to be a battle. I think it will probably come down to who gets the trip.”

Round 1 went to Whitmore, who beat C Z Rocket by 3 ¼ lengths in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) Nov. 7 at Keeneland for co-owner/trainer Ron Moquett of Hot Springs. That outcome secured Whitmore an Eclipse Award as the country's champion male sprinter of 2020 and snapped C Z Rocket's five-race winning streak (all the victories, including two Grade 2 stakes, came after being claimed for $40,000 last April at Oaklawn).

Round 2 went to C Z Rocket, who beat Whitmore by a neck in the $200,000 Hot Springs Stakes March 13 at Oaklawn. That outcome made C Z Rocket, a 7-year-old gelding, a millionaire, denied Whitmore his record-extending fifth consecutive Hot Springs victory and from becoming the outright leader in career Oaklawn stakes victories with eight (the 8-year-old gelding shares the record with Swift Ruler). Whitmore has won the Count Fleet a record three times (2017, 2018 and 2020).

“They're very comparable horses,” Miller said. “Really super-good horses.”

Whitmore and C Z Rocket headline the Count Fleet, which has drawn a field of seven. Probable post time for the Count Fleet, which goes as the 11th of 13 races, is 6:05 p.m. (Central). First post Saturday is 12:02 p.m.

The projected lineup from the rail out: No Parole, Ramon Vazquez to ride, 118 pounds, 9-2 on the morning line; Whitmore, Ricardo Santana Jr., 123, 9-5; Mojo Man, Francisco Arrieta, 116, 8-1; Strike Power, Joel Rosario, 117, 5-1; Empire of Gold, David Cabrera, 117, 8-1; C Z Rocket, Florent Geroux, 122, 2-1; and Mr. Jagermeister, Rocco Bowen, 116, 12-1.

Whitmore and C Z Rocket were making their first starts since the Breeders' Cup Sprint in the Hot Springs. Both races were 6 furlongs. Tipping the scales, so slightly, in C Z Rocket's favor last month may have been geography. He was training in Southern California, while Whitmore's routine in Arkansas was interrupted for roughly two weeks by severe winter weather. Oaklawn lost 11 days of training (Feb. 12-22) to snow and arctic temperatures.

“We missed two works,” said Laura Moquett, who assists her husband and regularly gallops Whitmore, a career winner of almost $4.3 million. “That stunk. And he went five-wide. Had he gone on the rail and missed two works, maybe it would have been even. Had he had the two works and gone five-wide, maybe it would have been even. But doing both – missing two works and going five-wide – it's not possible.”

Whitmore has had two half-mile works since the Hot Springs. Miller has kept a small string of horses at Oaklawn, but he opted to send C Z Rocket back to Southern California following the Hot Springs. The gelding has posted two works at his home base, San Luis Rey Downs.

“We were torn,” Miller said. “Leave him there or bring him home? Just with the weather there and everything like that, we thought it was prudent to bring him back.”

C Z Rocket was flown back to Arkansas Wednesday. He and Whitmore figure to again have plenty of pace to chase Saturday with the presence of Grade 1 winner No Parole, 2020 Breeders' Cup fourth Empire of Gold, multiple stakes winner Mr. Jagermeister and Grade 3 winner Strike Power, who has the fastest 6-furlong time of the 2021 Oaklawn meet (1:08.91).

“Lots of pace,” Miller said. “There's definitely lots of pace. We're just going to leave it up to Flo.”

Let Round 3 begin.

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Whitmore Tries for Fourth Count Fleet

The ageless champion Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect) will try for an unprecedented fourth victory in the GIII Count Fleet Sprint H. in a competitive seven-horse field Saturday at Oaklawn.

Annexing the Count Fleet in 2017 and 2018, the chestnut ran into a buzzsaw in champion Mitole (Eskendereya) when second in 2019 and gutted out his third score in the race last year. Winless in his next three, he finished his campaign with an 18-1 upset of the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint to earn an Eclipse Award for champion male sprinter. Making his 8-year-old debut in the Hot Springs S., he was just out-gamed by re-opposing C Z Rocket (City Zip) in a neck decision. That runner was second to Whitmore in the Breeders' Cup, stopping a five-race winning streak that began in a $50,000 claimer at Churchill–his first race for trainer Peter Miller–and culminated in a conquest of the GII Santa Anita Sprint Championship S.

No Parole (Violence) scored a convincing victory in the GI Woody Stephens S. last June, but hasn't been quite the same since. The bay was off the board in both the GI H. Allen Jerkens S. and GII Phoenix S. and, after bouncing back to annex a Louisiana-bred stake at Delta Feb. 10, was fourth at 2-5 making his turf debut in the state-bred Costa Rising S. Mar. 20 at Fair Grounds.

Fringe contenders include Strike Power (Speightstown), a one-time graded stakes-winning 'TDN Rising Star' who had fallen off form until dominating a track-and-trip optional claimer with a 101 Beyer Mar. 11, and Empire of Gold (Goldencents), who makes his 4-year-old debut after overachieving when second in the Phoenix and fourth in the Breeders' Cup, both times at 51-1.

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Arkansas Derby, Keeneland Grade 1’s Highlight TVG’s Weekend Coverage

The road to the Kentucky Derby will run through Arkansas this weekend and TVG will be broadcasting live from Oaklawn Park with full coverage of the $1 million Arkansas Derby as the undefeated Concert Tour puts his perfect record on the line. There will also be expanded coverage of Keeneland's Spring Meet which features a pair of Grade 1 events this weekend – the $300,000 Maker's Mark Mile (G1) on Friday and the $300,000 Coolmore (G1) Jenny Wiley on Saturday.

TVG's Britney Eurton, Matt Carothers and Caton Bredar will be live from Oaklawn Park with insights and analysis throughout the thirteen-race card. The Arkansas Derby (GI) offers 100-40-20-10 qualifying points to the top four finishers and has drawn a field of six including two contenders for trainer Bob Baffert who saddled Nadal to victory in this race last year. Rebel Stakes (G2) winner Concert Tour, undefeated from three starts, is a homebred for Gary and Mary West and will have Joel Rosario aboard. His rivals will include stablemate Hozier, the runner-up in the Rebel Stakes with Martin Garcia in the irons.

Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) winner and Eclipse Award winning sprinter Whitmore will get a rematch with C Z Rocket in the $500,000 Count Fleet Handicap (G3) after a narrow defeat in the $200,000 Hot Springs Stakes in March. Whitmore, trained by Ron Moquett, will be making his fifth appearance in the Count Fleet Handicap (G3) and has won it three times. Ricardo Santana, Jr. will be aboard.

Todd Schrupp, Simon Bray, Joaquin Jaime, Caleb Keller, Gabby Gaudet and Scott Hazelton will be broadcasting live from Keeneland with exclusive interviews, expert analysis and insights throughout the star-studded weekend of racing. The featured event of Friday's ten-race card is the $300,000 Maker's Mark Mile (G1) which has drawn a contentious field of nine turf specialists including Raging Bull (FR), the 7-2 morning line favorite for Chad Brown. Owned by Peter Brant, the Grade-1 winning millionaire has been freshened since a tenth-place finish in the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) and will be ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr.

There will also be Kentucky Derby points at stake on Saturday in the $200,000 Lexington Stakes (G3) with 20-8-4-2 qualifying points allocated to the top four finishers. The race has drawn a field of ten including Proxy who will be trying to break through and earn his first graded stakes victory for recent Dubai World Cup (G1) winning trainer Michael Stidham. The Godolphin-homebred was last seen finishing fourth in the Louisiana Derby (G1).

Fillies and mares will take center stage on Saturday at Keeneland in the $300,000 Coolmore Jenny Wiley (G1) which has attracted a field of six contenders. Micheline, a homebred daughter of Bernardini for Godolphin, will try to earn her first Grade 1 win and was last seen taking the Hillsborough Stakes (G2) at Tampa Bay Downs. Both she and Lexington Stakes (G3) Proxy are offspring of graded stakes-winning millionaire mare Panty Raid.

TVG's Mike Joyce, Christina Blacker and Dave Weaver will be reporting live from Santa Anita with full coverage of the nine-race card. The featured race is a one-mile allowance/optional claiming race with a competitive field of nine including graded stakes winner Grammer who will be returning to action for the first time since the 2020 Travers Stakes (G1) for trainer Bob Baffert.

Fans of international racing can also tune in for the action from Royal Randwick for Championship Day 1 featuring the $2 million Australian Derby (G1) and the $3 million Doncaster Mile (G1). Jason Witham will be anchoring the Australian coverage Friday night.

In addition to racing from Keeneland, Oaklawn and Santa Anita, TVG will feature racing from Gulfstream Park, Aqueduct and more. Fans can tune in on TVG, TVG2 and the Watch TVG app which is available on Amazon Fire, Roku and connected Apple TV devices.

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