Rocket Heat Fires to Turf Sprint Victory
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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Rocket Heat with Flavien Prat wins the Twin Spires Turf Sprint.
Longshot Rocket Heat, who flashes early speed in nearly all his starts but has had trouble staying to the wire, blasted away from the field to take the Twin Spires Turf Sprint (gr. IIIT) at Churchill Downs May 6.
The 4-year-old gelded son of Latent Heat—Enjoy the Moment, by Slew's Royalty, completed the five furlongs in :56.47, more than a second slower than the track record set by Power Alert last year. Power Alert checked in third behind Rocket Heat and Alsvid. The winner was sent off at odds of 8-1 and returned $19.60.
Rocket Heat, who backed up in the Shakertown (gr. IIT) April 9 after shipping in from his California base, had no trouble dispatching the Turf Sprint field, holding Alsvid safe by 2 lengths on the wire. He has now earned $316,512 for owner Mike Sanchez. Ridden by Flavien Prat, Rocket Heat is trained by Vann Belvoir, who collected the first graded stakes of his career. Farfellow Farms bred the winner in Kentucky.
Rocket Heat and Power Alert won the break, with Rocket Heat quickly establishing command well before the first turn. Something Extra and Guns Loaded, from the two outside gates, followed Rocket Heat through a first quarter in :21.74. Rocket Heat ran the turn better than his foes, opened up three lengths coming off the bend, and passed a half-mile in :44.40. Alsvid took up the running late with Power Alert, but the winner was never troubled.
"I had a good trip," Prat said. "He relaxed and then when I asked him, he took off. This is my first win at Churchill and I'm happy about that."
Belvoir added, "He ran a huge one. We did a myectomy on him and I was confident that would help. When he switched leads. I thought he might have enough to hold on."
Summation Time finished fourth, followed by Guns Loaded, Something Extra, Mongol Bull, favorite Hootenanny and Speightsong (who dead-heated for eighth), American Sailor, Weast Hill, and Latent Revenge.
Rocket Heat has now won six of his 17 starts, including four of 10 on the turf, and is a solid four-for-six at the five-furlong distance. His last victory before Friday came last November at Del Mar in allowance/optional claiming company.