Bluegrass Cat’s 3-year-old colt Laurie’s Rocket kicked into high gear in the Oaklawn Park stretch to win the $75,000 Bachelor S. by a length over 3-5 favorite Apprehender. This was the first stakes win for Laurie’s Rocket, who was bred in Kentucky by Gulf Coast Farms LLC.
Bluegrass Cat, with three stakes horses and 23 winners this year, is in the top 5 among all third crop sires.
Laurie’s Rocket was in the back of the four horse field after a quarter mile, and was widest of all in going around the turn. With Calvin Borel in the irons, the eventual winner rallied strongly to get the lead inside the furlong marker, finishing the six furlongs in 1:10.01.
“The colt’s been working really good. With this short field, I had him right where I wanted him. He’s a real good come from behind sprinter,” said Borel.
Owned by Willis Horton and trained by Dallas Stewart, Laurie’s Rocket is now 3-2-0 in 10 starts, with earnings $163,933. Horton bought his colt for $300,000 at the 2010 Keeneland September yearling sale.