As the late John Denver might have sang, the country roads of West Virginia led Romacaca and Bernie Blue to the place they belonged Saturday night – Mountaineer Park – where the Florida-breds each won a stakes race worth $75,000.
Romacaca, a daughter or Running Stag bred at Cashel Stud in Ocala, romped to a five-length victory in the Firecracker Stakes. Bernie Blue, a Bernstein gelding bred by Tampa’s Dr. D.W. Frazier, successfully defended his crown in the Dale Baird Memorial, beating Florida-bred Piratesonthelake by a length.
Romacaca, who usually vies for the lead, was content to stalk the pace early in the Firecracker, a one-mile race for fillies and mares on firm turf, as Zister led the field through a quarter-mile in 23.13 seconds and a half-mile in 46.32 seconds. After starting from the No. 5 post, Romacaca and jockey Michael Baze angled in toward the rail and ran in fourth place while gradually advancing along the backstretch.
When asked for run, Romacaca proved much the best, advancing around the far turn to hit the top of the stretch with an eight-length advantage before finishing in 1:35.85. She paid $3.20, $2.40 and $2.20 as the favorite in a field of eight.
Si Si Mon Amie paid $3.20 and $2.60 after finishing 3 ¼ lengths ahead of Musical Brew, who paid $5 to show.
Romacaca, trained by Nick Canani for owner Frank C. Calabrese, has won seven of her 15 starts for $269,021. She’s 2-for-2 for Canani, having wired a $62,000 optional claimer going a mile on the Arlington Park turf course in May.
The 4-year-old filly previously was trained by Danny Miller, for whom she earned stakes wins last summer on the Arlington lawn in the $53,300 Diamond Ring and the $55,000 Hatoof. Romacaca is 4-for-6 when running a mile on grass.
In the Dale Baird Memorial, Bernie Blue proved that time hasn’t diminished his talent, as the 8-year-old horse rallied for a one-length victory over Piratesonthelake.
Bernie Blue, who races for Frazier under the owner’s Pyrite Stables name, employed his usual strategy of stalking the pace while Piratesonthelake led the field through a quarter-mile in 22.33 seconds. Bernie Blue and jockey Ricardo Feliciano took the lead with about one-eighth of a mile remaining in the 5 ½-furlong test and stopped the clock in 1:03.63. Last year, Bernie Blue won the race by four lengths in 1:05.06.
Bernie Blue, trained by his jockey’s uncle, Miguel Feliciano, won for the 23rd time in his 57-race career and inched closer toward becoming a millionaire, boosting his bankroll to $943,045. A 12-time stakes winner, he tuned up for Saturday night’s race by winning a $30,000 optional claimer by 2 ¾ lengths at Thistledown on June 1.
Bernie Blue has excelled at Mountaineer, winning 14 of his 31 starts there, but still went off as the fourth choice in a field of six 3-year-olds and up. He paid $11.20, $6.40 and $2.80. Piratesonthelake held on for second, half a length ahead of Ravalo, and returned $4.20 and $3.20. The show price on the favored Ravalo was $2.20.
Piratesonthelake, a 6-year-old Lake Austin gelding bred by Sunrise Stable South in Morriston, has won nine of his 35 starts for $412,298. He’s trained by Scott Lake for owner Ben Mondello.
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Photo by Four Footed Foto
