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Photo courtesy of Dianne Boothe.
Used with permission. |
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Harlem Rocker is
in the news archives
There is a wealth of
information available on Harlem Rocker. Archives
of news surrounding his previous races including the
Prince of Wales Stakes, Plate Trial Stakes, and Withers
Stakes are accessible. Other news items include the buzz
surrounding the consideration given to the Haskell, the Queen's
Plate in Canada, and the Preakness Stakes. Finding
that information, particularly the most recent, too
extensive to list on one page, an attempt has been made
to condense it by event. In some cases, there will
be an overlap, duplication, or information which has now
vanished. To make it easier to retrieve, each
group can be accessed through the following links which
will then open a .pdf file in a new window.
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Quality
video
of the
Withers Stakes at NBC Sports
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A look back at the
2008 Cigar Mile |
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Horse |
Jockey |
Trainer |
| DQ to 2nd |
Harlem
Rocker |
E Coa |
T
Pletcher |
| 1st by DQ |
Tale of
Ekati |
E Prado |
B Tagg |
| 3rd |
Bribon
(FR) |
R Maragh |
R Ribaudo |
| 4th |
Arson
Squad |
G Gomez |
R Dutrow |
| 5th |
Kodiak
Kowboy |
R
Dominguez |
L Jones |
| 6th |
Storm
Play |
C
Velasquez |
J Jerkens |
| 7th |
Monterey
Jazz |
D Flores |
C Dollase |
| 8th |
Visionaire |
A Garcia |
M Matz |
| DNF |
Wanderin
Boy |
J
Velazquez |
N Zito |
Harlem Rocker adds $60,000 to his
earnings.
2008: 8
starts 4-1-1 $571,749
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Winner - 60%
2nd - 20%
3rd - 10%
4th - 5%
5th - 3% |
Remaining finishers split
2%
Trophies
awarded to winning owner, trainer, and jockey.
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12/2/08
Over the
past few days, there has been much discussion regarding the
steward’s decision to DQ Harlem Rocker from the Hill ‘n’ Dale Cigar
Mile win and place him second. Interference in the stretch has been
penned from “veering in sharply” to changing lanes. Be that as it
may, decisions are handed down on a regular basis by stewards and
the results can vary from day to day, track to track, and race to
race. We have seen horses body slam one another and not be taken
down. We have seen horses come down after moving into the path of
another without contact. It is a human judgment call. We may not
like it, but we will live with it.
It is
important to realize that Harlem Rocker is a great source of pride
to a large group of people. As part of the Adena Racing Venture II
package, he is owned, in part, by many regular working class people
who put their money down. What did they buy? Part of a dream. For
those people, many of whom will never see a return on their hard
earned dollars, it’s not about the money. The earnings may never
trickle down to them. It’s about the, perhaps, once in a lifetime
chance to be a part of a horse competing at the highest level. For
those people, who have also taken their lumps, Harlem Rocker is very
great source of pride. To unthinkingly dismiss the DQ as a notch in
some imagined karma against the uncaring rich is incorrect. It’s
about a handsome gray colt, a responsible trainer who looks out for
his horses, and a jockey who knows how to get them there. More
importantly, it’s about those people and anyone who has ever had a
dream.
To the
fans and friends of Harlem Rocker, salute!
11/30/08
Harlem Rocker earns a 106 Beyer for the Hill 'n' Dale
Cigar Mile, tying his previous top Beyer from the Withers Stakes.
Both efforts were over the 1 mile Aqueduct distance and place him,
again, in
DRF's Top Beyers for 2008 3
year-olds. There will be no appeal regarding the DQ, but it is
likely that he will be pointed to the G1 Donn H at Gulfstream on
1/31, at the distance of 1
1/8
miles.
11/29/08 post Cigar Mile
It is never a
good day in racing when results mar the outcome. Wanderin Boy,
who was to complete his career following the Hill 'n' Dale, was
pulled up in the stretch after he sustained an injury and was unable
to complete the race. Wanderin Boy was vanned off and our
thoughts are with his connections for a favorable outcome for the 7
year old horse. Update: Wanderin Boy was humanely
euthanized due to fractured sesamoids in his left front leg.
The Hill 'n'
Dale Cigar Mile will always be remembered by the connections of
Harlem Rocker as that moment of joy which so quickly turned to
disappointment. The disappointment most certainly does not lie
with the colt or jockey. It is, rather, the inconsistency of
the decisions handed down by stewards from track to track, day to
day, and race to race. The same move which results in no
change on one day can be a DQ on another. Perhaps had the
victory not been by a nose, when Harlem Rocker adamantly fought back
the advances of Tale of Ekati, it would have been different.
On this day, it was not to be.
So where do you
go after a terrific effort by a colt that the odds makers, betters,
and media personal had all but dismissed in this race?
Forward, of course, and with great pride in his Cigar Mile run!
~the staff at
Harlemrocker.com |
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Post
Cigar Mile News for Harlem Rocker
NYRA is offering
Desktop Wallpaper
featuring the finish of the
Cigar Mile. Available
in 1280 x 960, 1040 x 768,
or 800 x 600, the photo
shows an angled head-on as
they reach the wire.
Text on the photo by
Coglianese, situated
over the track surface,
bears Tale of Ekati's name.
It is a good photo of Harlem
Rocker reaching for the
wire. A race replay is
also on the NYRA page. |
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Tagg to keep Tale of Ekati at one turn
Daily Racing Form , NY- Dec 1, 2008
Among those leaving was Tale of Ekati, who was elevated to first by the Aqueduct stewards after falling a nose short to Harlem Rocker in Saturday's Grade 1 ...
"Though Todd Pletcher, the trainer of Harlem Rocker, hinted at a possible appeal, he said Monday that owner Frank Stronach would not go ahead with one.
"We have decided not to appeal; that doesn't mean we agree with the decision," Pletcher said Monday from Southern California where he had run horses Sunday at Hollywood Park. "That can be a long, drawn-out process that you seldom win."
Pletcher contends that there was no contact between the two horses and that Edgar Prado, the jockey of Tale of Ekati, did not stop riding. Prado did have to alter course.
Tale of Ekati and Harlem Rocker - who each earned 106 Beyer Speed Figures - will both winter in south Florida, though it's uncertain if they'll meet at Gulfstream Park. Tagg said Tale of Ekati will remain in one-turn races, while Pletcher said he is earmarking the Gradeo1 Donn on Jan. 31 at 1 1/8 miles...
Part of the reason the result was so close at the finish is Harlem Rocker's tendency to wait on horses after he makes the lead, Pletcher said. Pletcher said one could consider putting blinkers on a colt like this, but he added that the horse is already running well enough without them.
Pletcher said the key to success with Harlem Rocker is to "time your run with him more than anything."
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Tale of Ekati wins Cigar Mile on disqualification
Thoroughbred Times, KY - 31 minutes ago
by Jeff Apel Charles Fipke’s homebred Grade 1 winner Tale of Ekati was declared the winner of the $300000 Hill ‘n’ Dale Cigar Mile Handicap (G1) after ... |
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Cigar Day
Daily Racing Form, NY - Nov 29, 2008
The Cigar Mile ended in controversy as Harlem Rocker reached the wire a nose to the good of Tale of Ekati after a mile in 1:35.01, but was disqualified and placed second for dropping over on the runner-up in the stretch. It wasn't a clear-cut takedown... |
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Stronach's
Harlem
Rocker
disqualified
from
win
at
Cigar
Mile
CBC.ca, Canada
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Nov
29,
2008
Tale
of
Ekati
(5),
with
jockey
Edgar
Prado,
falls
a
nose
short
of
Harlem
Rocker
(3),
with
Eibar
Coa
aboard,
at
the
wire
of
the
Cigar
Mile
at
Aqueduct
on
... |
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Cigar
Mile
Brisnet.com
-
Nov
29,
2008
"You
could
see
(Harlem
Rocker)
was
coming
in
on
me
and
I
had
to
steady,"
jockey
Edgar
Prado
said
of
the
disqualification.
The
Cigar
Mile
was
unfortunately
... |
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Tale of
Ekati wins
Cigar on DQ
Daily Racing
Form NY -
Nov 29, 2008
Harlem
Rocker,
under Eibar
Coa, went
three wide
turning for
home and
took the
lead in
upper
stretch from
pacesetting
Monterey
Jazz.
Meanwhile,
Tale of
Ekati ...
...The stewards immediately posted the inquiry sign, and Prado ordered a hold put on the race.
According to NYRA steward Carmine Donofrio, the disqualification was made because the incident "affected the outcome of the race."
"There's no question we came over; the horse didn't, to me, appear to check," said Harlem Rocker's trainer, Todd Pletcher, who did not rule out an appeal of the decision. Tale of Ekati "altered course, he got to us, he had every opportunity to go by. In my opinion he was never going by."
Said Prado: "That little check cost me a little momentum at the end. He only beat him by a nose. I think the stewards made the right decision."
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Tale of Ekati wins
Cigar Mile on a DQ
International Herald
Tribune, France -
Nov 29, 2008
Harlem Rocker
was first under the
wire, a nose in
front of Tale of
Ekati. The result
was reversed, with
Harlem Rocker
dropped into the
place spot following
...
"Sometimes it happens for me, sometimes it happens for them," Tagg said of the disqualification.
Todd Pletcher, trainer of Harlem Rocker, disagreed with the stewards' decision.
"Tale of Ekati had every opportunity to go by our horse," Pletcher said. "And, in my opinion, he was never going by. It's a tough call in a Grade 1 stakes."
Pletcher said he would consult with owner Frank Stronach about a possible appeal.
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Tale of Ekati Wins
Cigar Mile on DQ
BloodHorse, KY -
Nov 29, 2008
By
Tom LaMarra Charles
Fipke’s Tale of
Ekati finished a
nose behind Stronach
Stables’ Harlem
Rocker when the
horses hit the wire
in the Nov. ... |
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Harlem Rocker's 2009 Year in
Review
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What is in store for Harlem
Rocker in 2009? |
Daily Racing Form - Mike Welsch - Dec 15, 2009
Other prominent names eligible for the Kenny Noe include Biker Boy, Harlem Rocker, and Le Grand Cru, along with locally based stablemates Motovato and You ...
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Harlem Rocker eyeing Hal's Hope
Daily Racing Form - Marty McGee - Nov 16, 2009
Harlem Rocker, making his first start since being disqualified from first ... Harlem Rocker is nominated to the Nov. 27 Clark Handicap but will be pointed ... |
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Churchill Downs Barn Notes (11.15.09)
HorseRaceInsider.com - Nov 16, 2009
Stronach Stable's Harlem Rocker ran second to Cosmic on Saturday beaten a head in his first start since being disqualified from first in last November's ... |
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New York Daily News - Dan Lauletta - Nov 15, 2009
Meanwhile, Harlem Rocker returned running but could not get by Cosmic in a seven-furlong allowance race. It was Harlem Rocker's first start since being ...
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Churchill: all Calvin all the time - The Inside Post
DRF, by Marty McGee - Nov 14, 2009
Make that 4 in a row for Calvin Borel, as Cosmic ($9.60), trained by older brother Cecil Borel, got through an inside opening at the half-mile, drove clear, then was hard-ridden to hold off comebacking Harlem Rocker to win the 8th race ... |
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New York Daily News - Dan Lauletta - Nov 14, 2009
One race before the Mrs Revere, Harlem Rocker will make his first start of 2009. The 4-year old was last seen being disqualified after finishing first in ..
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Daily Racing Form, by Marty McGee - Nov 12, 2009
The controversy that erupted the last time Harlem Rocker was in a horse race has subsided. It was Nov. 29, 2008, when Harlem Rocker launched a huge rally to ...
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DRF, by David Grening - Oct 26, 2009
With John Velazquez in the irons, Quality Road started about a half-length outside of Harlem Rocker and went in splits of 12.79 seconds, 24.66, and 35.89, ... (Very short video clip of above work featured on HRTV Pursuit of the Cup and Across the Board interview with Todd Pletcher)
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Daily Racing Form: Community: FormBlog with Dan Illman--Test By Dan Illman
Harlem Rocker reportedly got sick earlier this year. The original plan was to get him back in training by the summer, but he hasn't registered a workout since January. He is on our disabled list on the right-hand side of the blog. ...
FormBlog - http://community.drf.com/formblog/ |
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Harlem Rocker tops the charts in the 2008 Canadian Thoroughbred Ratings. "In the Mile category, Harlem Rocker was ranked at 116 for his performance in the Hill’n’Dale Cigar Mile Handicap..." Standings from the Canadian Jockey Club. |
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Jen's Thorough-blog
By Jen Morrison - Feb 17, 2009
HARLEM ROCKER is at Adena Springs South in Ocala for some R & R. He is being pointed to a summer campaign after suffering an illness. Friends of Harlem Rocker have a neat website at www.harlemrocker.com with photos and ... |
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Harlem Rocker will rest until summer
DRF - Feb 13, 2009
...Trainer Todd Pletcher said Harlem Rocker, winner of the Grade 1 Cigar Mile in his 2008 finale, has been sent home to owner Frank Stronach's Adena Springs Farm in Ocala, Fla., and will miss the first half of his 2009 campaign.
Harlem Rocker was scheduled to open the season in the Grade 1 Donn Handicap but was forced to bypass the race due to illness.
"He got very sick on us, lost a lot of weight, and just didn't come back as quick as he needed," Pletcher said. "So we felt the best thing to do was to give him time, pick back up on our way to New York in March or April, and point for a summer campaign."...
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Barn Notes
Gulfstream Park - FL - Jan 28, 2009
The spiked fever that disrupted the son of Macho Uno’s training has cleared and Pletcher says the goal will now be the $300,000 Gulfstream Park Handicap (G2) at one mile on Mar. 14. |
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Dubai World Cup card attracts nominations from 27 countries
Brisnet.com - USA - Jan 23, 2009
TALE OF EKATI (Tale of the Cat) and HARLEM ROCKER (Macho Uno), the top two from the Cigar Mile (G1), are among the 332 entries from 18 countries for the $1 ... |
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US well represented in World Cup nominations
Thoroughbred Times - Lexington,KY - Jan 23, 2009
Albertus Maximus, Harlem Rocker, and Tale of Ekati also have been nominated to the $1-million Etisalat Godolphin Mile (UAE-G2) among the 42 American ... |
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World Cup attracts 39 from US
Daily Racing Form - New York,NY,USA - Jan 23, 2009
... absent from a list that includes last year's World Cup third, Well Armed, Albertus Maximus, Colonel John, Tale of Ekati, Harlem Rocker and Cowboy Cal. ... |
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Dubai Racing Club Newswire » Blog Archive » Entries confirm global ...
Dubai Racing Club Newswire - Jan 23, 2009
Cigar Mile winner TALE OF EKATI and HARLEM ROCKER are among the 332 entries from 18 countries for the US$1000000 Group 2 Godolphin Mile, sponsored by Etisalat. The Purebred Arabian US$250000 Group 1 Dubai Kahayla Classic, sponsored by ... |
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Eclipse Owner/Breeder: Adena/Stronach - NTRA
NTRA Headline News - - Jan 26, 2009
Harlem Rocker was not only a graded stakes winner in New York, but also a classic winner in Canada. He won the Withers Stakes (gr. III) at Aqueduct, plus the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie as a Stronach Stables lessee. ... |
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Eclipse Owner/Breeder: Adena/Stronach
BloodHorse - Lexington,KY,USA - Jan 26, 2009
Adena Springs was represented by nine homebred stakes winners, including graded winners Ginger Punch, Giant Gizmo, Harlem Rocker, Spring Waltz, ... |
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The Donn Handicap is just
around the corner |
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Pletcher forced
to alter
Harlem Rocker
plans
Daily Racing
Form - NY - Jan
16, 2009
Pletcher said he
will now point
Harlem Rocker
for the Grade 2
Gulfstream Park
Handicap at a
mile on March
14. Harlem
Rocker, a
homebred son of
Macho Uno,
... |
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Harlem
Rocker
to miss Donn
Daily Racing
Form NY -
Jan 16, 2009
Harlem
Rocker,
among the
more highly
regarded
handicap
horses in
the country
coming into
the 2009
season, will
miss his
scheduled
debut in the
Grade 1 Donn
... |
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Pletcher Pair Posts Powerful
Works
Gulfstream Park - Jan 14,
2009
Reigning five-time leading
trainer Todd Pletcher
drilled his contenders for
Gulfstream Park’s most
lucrative races for older
horses Sunday at Palm
Meadows with Dogwood
Stable’s Atoned and Stronach
Stables’ Harlem Rocker
working in ...
Harlem
Rocker,
a
4-year-old
son of
Macho
Uno,
will be
heading
into the
$500,000
Donn
Handicap
(Grade
1) on
Jan. 31
where he
seeks a
Grade 1
victory
that he
can
keep: He
was
disqualified
from an
apparent
win in
the
Cigar
Mile
(Grade
1) at
Aqueduct
on Nov.
29.
Pletcher
is still
smarting
over the
interference
call
that
gave the
race to
Tale of
Ekati.
“The
sting is
still
there,”
he said.
“Anytime
you get
DQ’d
from a
Grade 1
race on
something
that I
consider
a
borderline
call,
the
sting is
going to
linger a
while,
but we
were
certainly
proud of
the way
he ran.”
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McPeek pair still unbeaten
after allowance sweep
Daily Racing Form - NY
Jan 8, 2009
Pletcher
is also
gearing
up
Harlem
Rocker
for the
Grade 1
Donn
Handicap
on Jan.
31.
Harlem
Rocker
lost an
apparent
Grade 1
win in
his 2008
finale
when he
was
disqualified
from
first
and
placed
second
behind
Tale of
Ekati in
the
Cigar
Mile.
Pletcher
said he
is not
concerned
about
stretching
Harlem
Rocker
out to 1
1/8
miles
for the
Donn,
even
though
his best
races
have
been at
a mile
or
shorter.
"He won
the
Prince
of Wales
at a
mile and
a
sixteenth
and ran
well in
the
Travers
after
getting
fanned
out
pretty
wide,"
said
Pletcher.
"And I
think
this
track
should
suit him
well
going a
mile and
one-eighth."
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