Jonathan Roberts, a 1999 St. Mary’s Ryken High School graduate, holds the ceremonial trophy for capturing the dash-winning title at the recently concluded Rosecroft Raceway fall meet. He was also the regular pilot of Can’t Beach That, the pacer of the meet for trainer Mike Hall and owner Surprise Pic, LLC.
Trainer Mike Hall accepts the ceremonial trophy for being the top conditioner at the recently concluded Rosecroft Raceway fall meet. Hall was also the trainer of Can’t Beach That, who won seven races and capped the meet by taking the $20,000 Maryland Pacing Derby en route to being named champion pacer of the meet.
Jonathan Roberts, a 1999 St. Mary’s Ryken High School graduate, holds the ceremonial trophy for capturing the dash-winning title at the recently concluded Rosecroft Raceway fall meet. He was also the regular pilot of Can’t Beach That, the pacer of the meet for trainer Mike Hall and owner Surprise Pic, LLC.
Staff photo by Ted Black
Trainer Mike Hall accepts the ceremonial trophy for being the top conditioner at the recently concluded Rosecroft Raceway fall meet. Hall was also the trainer of Can’t Beach That, who won seven races and capped the meet by taking the $20,000 Maryland Pacing Derby en route to being named champion pacer of the meet.
On a night when Mother Nature was hardly cooperative as intermittent steady rains prevailed throughout the occasion, Rosecroft Raceway put the finishing touches on its 2022 fall meet last Thursday when the track offered 16 races and honored its top equine and human performers on a warm, breezy, rainy occasion.
Perhaps it seemed only fitting that Can’t Beach That was named the champion pacer for the fall meet. Conditioner Mike Hall easily won the trainers’ title and catch driver Jonathan Roberts coasted to the dash win title among local reinsmen with over 80 wins. Judge Bob was named the top trotter at the meet, winning twice and finishing second six times in nine local starts for trainer William “Bib” Roberts.
“It’s probably the best meet that I’ve ever had here,” said Roberts, a 1999 St. Mary’s Ryken High School graduate. “I’ve been able to drive a lot of nice horses here and that always helps. Most of the horses that I drove here were good the whole meet. As a driver, you’re only as good as the stock that you get to drive.”
In the $20,000 Maryland Pacing Derby, Can’t Beach That (Roberts) lived up to his role as the 3-5 favorite when he cleared to the top approaching the opening quarter, maintained an honest tempo to the half and three-quarters, rebuffed a first over bid from Slick Tony then held safe Sea Of Life and Fantastic Voyage for a two-length score in 1:51.2.
A six-year-old Somebeachsomewhere gelding trained by Mike Hall for owner Surprise Pic, LLC, Can’t Beach That recorded his seventh win at the meet and now boasts 16 wins and nearly $145,000 from 36 seasonal outings. He now owns 28 wins and over $400,000 banked from 92 lifetime tries and has been horse of the meet each of the last two seasons at Rosecroft.
“He’s one of those horses that likes to win, but he doesn’t like to draw off and win by 10 [lengths],” Hall said of Can’t Beach That. “He likes to wait on horses and back into them on the turn, but then he’ll sprint away a little at the end. I had a horse win 13 races one year a few years ago, so for him to win 16 this year is really nice.”
One race earlier in the $15,000 Maryland Open, Dirt On My Boots (Bryson Dunning) forged a very mild upset when he brushed to command down the backside then held sway late for a length score in 1:52.2. A A six-year-old Tobago Cays gelding trained by Jody Dunning, Dirt On My Boots notched his fifth win in 18 starts this year and now owns 19 victories and over $155,000 banked from exactly 100 lifetime outings.
Then one race earlier in the $12,000 3-4-Year-Old Open, Ilderton AM (Trae Porter) rallied from well off the pace to forge a 6-1 upset in 1:52.2. A four-year-old Captaintrecherous stallion trained by Jason Walters of Hughesville for owner Seth Hamelman of Waldorf, Ilderton AM recorded his seventh win from 26 starts this year and 12 wins and nearly $110,000 banked from 53 career outings.
Then one race earlier in a non-winners of $6,000 last four starts class for older pacers, Globaldomination N (Roberts) just lived up to his role as the 4-5 favorite when he benefited from patient handling and a pocket trip and wore down pacesetter Dance On The Beach late in 1:52.3. A seven-year-old Bettor’s Delight gelding trained by Mike Hall, Globaldomination N notched his seventh win from 39 starts this year and now sports 20 wins from 99 lifetime tries.
Much of the public’s attention was actually focused on the Jackpot Hi-5, a wager that requires a bettor to select the top five finishers in earnings. More than $35,000 was carried over into the pot and the public wagered another $107,000 on the gimmick on Thursday when over $675,000 was wagered on the entire program. Globaldomination N and Dance On The Beach were top two betting choices in the field at 4-5 and 9-5, but J K Objection slipped through for third at 21-1.
While Hall, Roberts and Can’t Beach That were truly the local stars throughout the fall meet, clearly the highlight of the season occurred six weeks earlier when Allywag Hanover (Todd McCarthy) captured the seventh edition of the $125,000 Potomac Pace Invitational as the even-money second choice in 1:46.4, shattering the previous all-age track record and establishing a new world record as the fastest mile ever on a five-eighths oval.
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Then one race later on that historic November 10 card, Wild Wild Western (Yannick Gingras) captured the $25,000 Maryland Invitational in 1:48.1 for trainer Norm Parker, outlasting the late surge of Bettor Than Spring (Dexter Dunn). It was the first outing over the strip for both aged pacers and would prove to be the second-fastest clocking of the meet and the fifth fastest in the track’s history.
