Redland Rocket Man won a race Sept. 12 in the fastest time by a 3-year-old pacer in North America this year, and trainer and co-owner John Pentland knew the gelding deserved a chance to compete in the Little
Brown Jug.
There was just one problem: He was not eligible on procedural grounds.
To enter, Pentland and his partners, Murray Cox and Gary Volpe, would need to fork up $45,000 in a supplemental fee. They did not hesitate to write the check.
Redland Rocket Man wasted no time paying them back.
The pacer took the lead from the start of the 81st Little Brown Jug and captured the coveted trophy in 1:49.4 with driver Jodi Jamieson, bringing home nearly half of the $650,000 purse and giving Pentland his first Jug victory on his first try. Meilillo finished second and Al Papi was third.
“It was a once‑in‑a‑lifetime shot,” Pentland said. “I had support from my partners and my wife and the people who work for me. They all said, ‘Let’s do this,’
“To finally get my first Grade 1 win and do it in the Little Brown Jug, I’m not sure it comes better than that.”
After a week of frequent rain, Delaware County overcame early dampness to send the Jug race off under clear cerulean skies on a 68-degree textbook autumn afternoon. Eleven horses entered the race, requiring two elimination heats to determine the eight horses that would return for the final later in the afternoon.
In the first elimination heat, Al Papi took the lead from the start and won by nearly two lengths in 1:51.1 for driver Yannick Gingras and trainer Ron Burke, who were seeking their fourth Jug victory together.
"He's a speed horse,” Gingras said. “I knew this track would suit him really well."
Redland Rocket Man took a far more challenging route in the second elimination heat, sitting fifth through the first half of the race before going three-wide to circle the field around the final turn and win, pulling away by four widening lengths in 1:50.2.
"A horse can only go so fast, but he just seems to go forever," said Pentland.
The elimination winners then drew for the two best starting positions in the final, and Redland Rocket Man landed the spot closest to the rail. Pentland said as soon as he saw Redland Rocket Man had drawn post one, he knew the race was theirs to lose.
“I saw that red saddle pad sitting on my chair, and I thought, ‘I think we’ve got it,’” he said with a chuckle.
As the sun dropped behind the Delaware County Fairgrounds, Redland Rocket Man was a little slow leaving the gate. He quickly surged past Al Papi to take the lead.
“I had to get into my horse hard because, for whatever reason, he didn’t fire on the inside,” Jamieson said. “Maybe I didn’t have him ready enough to leave, but I had him ready enough to where Yannick couldn’t cross down, and that was the race right there.”
Jamieson kept Redland Rocket Man in front through the first half before Al Papi mounted a challenge and pulled within a nose.
That’s when Redland Rocket Man seemed to have had enough. With a wave of his tail, he shifted into top gear and won by more than four lengths.
As a jubilant crowd of the pacer’s connections flowed onto the track, many dressed in grey and neon-green T-shirts emblazoned on the back with “Redland Rocket Man,” Jamieson took the pacer the long way back to the winner’s circle, seeming to greet every fan along the fence line.
Jamieson won his first Little Brown Jug in 2007 with Tell All. Nearly two decades later, he savored every moment of his second Jug victory.
“I didn’t think I’d ever get another chance at it again,” Jamieson said. “But here we are, back in the winner’s circle.”
Ohio State students Blake Anderson, Elianna Norder, Landon Watson, Matthew Stone and Logan Miller contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Redland Rocket Man garners Little Brown Jug win for Pentland, Cox, Volpe
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