In a day and age when horses achieving a certain degree of success wind up in the breeding shed by the time they’re four, it’s refreshing when a horse comes along and bucks the trend.
Case in point, C Z Rocket. A 9-year-old gelding who will be running in the G2 Pat O’Brien for the fourth time this Saturday at Del Mar.
The son of City Zip ran in his first Pat O’Brien in 2020 and won, beating the likes of Flagstaff and Law Abidin Citizen. He returned the next year and ran second to Ginobili, a horse that would go on and run second to Life Is Good in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar.
Last year C Z Rocket ran eighth in the Pat O’Brien in what turned out to be the only blemish on a successful 8-year old campaign. It included a near miss in the G2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship and a runner-up finish to champion Elite Power in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland.
“He’s very sound and he still loves his job,” trainer Peter Miller says. “When he stops liking what he’s doing and being energetic, then we’ll deal with it but he amazes me.”
C Z Rocket has had some shining moments in his 41-race career. He served notice in 2020 when he finished second to Whitmore in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland. He held his form into 2021 and was unbeatable at Oaklawn Park, defeating Whitmore not once, but in back-to-back races.
There also was the blanket finish with Dr. Schivel in the 2021 G1 Bing Crosby.
“We claimed him for $40,000 at Oaklawn (in 2020),” Miller says. “He ran bad that day and bled. We found a few things we thought could help him, fix him up. I think he won five in a row and he was off to the races.”
One of those wins was his victory in the G2 Pat O’Brien followed by his runner-up finish in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, then by his victories over Whitmore.
C Z Rocket has yet to reach the winners circle this year in six races. He did try the Golden Shaheen in Dubai and while that didn’t go so well (he finished eighth) he did return to the states and run second to Dr. Schivel in an allowance race at Santa Anita in May followed by a runner-up finish to Spirit of Makena in the G2 Triple Bend.
Spirit of Makena is also entered in the Pat O’Brien. He’s coming off of a terrible trip in the G1 Bing Crosby at Del Mar last month. The son of Ghostzapper got tangled up with other horses on the far turn and lost all chance, eventually finishing last.
“Horses came out and he was right behind them,” trainer George Papaprodromou says. “He clipped heels. Just bad timing.”
Coming into the Bing Crosby, Spirit of Makena was arguably one of the best sprinters on the West Coast having won three straight including the G3 San Carlos and the G2 Triple Bend. He was certainly a horse on the rise and Papaprodromou is hoping to regain some of that momentum Saturday.
They likely will all be chasing Brickyard Ride, who set the pace in the G2 San Diego before getting rundown late by Senor Buscador and Slow Down Andy, two horses pointing to the G1 Pacific Classic.
“It’s the best place to be,” trainer Craig Lewis says of Brickyard Ride being on the lead. “They have to catch him. It’s like robbing a bank. The police have to catch you. Sometimes they do.”
Few can run with Brickyard Ride out of the gate and he’s shortening back to a one-turn race, which bodes well for his early speed.
“What’s giving me confidence is he’s won 13 races and eight stakes,” Lewis notes. “Unfortunately, the stakes were all won at Santa Anita so he might have a preference for Santa Anita but let’s hope he gets loose.”
The G2 Pat O’Brien is a seven-furlong test for horses 3-years-old and up. It’s the 10th race on the 11-race Saturday card. Approximate post time is 6:30 p.m.
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