C Z Rocket edges champion Whitmore in Hot Springs

CZ Rocket denied heavy favorite Whitmore his fifth victory in the $200,000 Hot Springs Stakes when he got up in the final jump to prevail by a neck in a final time of 1:09 for six furlongs over a fast track.

Flagstaff finished third.

“I didn’t think we would be behind Whitmore, but it kind of worked out,” said trainer Peter Miller, who had claimed the horse last year for $40,000 at Oaklawn before he went on to win multiple Graded stakes. “Might have been a blessing in disguise to track Whitmore. He’s such a great horse, Whitmore, and so is C Z Rocket. I just can’t say enough about both of these horses. My congratulations to the connections of Whitmore on having this horse ready to rock and roll. 

CZ Rocket, a 7-year-old City Zip gelding who races for Madaket Stables LLC, Gary Barber and Tom Kagele, improved his record to 10-2-2 in 24 starts and has now earned $1,011,641. He returned $7.20, $3.40 and $2.40 as the 5-2 second choice.

"Going down the stretch, I thought we were going to get there," Miller said. "It was tough. He was a little further back than I’d thought he would be, honestly. I did see pace was hot. Flo (Florent Geroux) knows what he’s doing. Horse runs really well for him. Pace was fast, so we were where we were supposed to be and it worked out.”