Rolando establishes the track record in Petramalo Mile Rull * The Racing Biz

The part of colonial downs started with a bang on Saturday.

Rolando at the front took his rivals away from his rivals and pulled away to win the Petramalo Mile with four lengths in a track record time of 1: 33.55 for the kilometer for one turn on a fast main track. It was Rolando’s fourth victory of eight career start and pushed his bankroll to more than $ 230,000.

But it was his first track record.

“You know, the first rule is that when you make a track record, the song must be absolutely fast,” said Fausto Gutierrez, who trains the Vekoma -Feulen for St. George Stable. “You never see a horse in a track record on a tough job.”

A disappointing far -fetched final in the Lafayette in Keeneland in April, Rolando showed up in a great way today.

Under Jockey John Velazquez he zipped to the early lead, threw the testing of fractions and just left his rivals off their feet.

“If you drive on such a horse, you don’t have to do too much,” said Velazquez. “Just start to hold and try to save it before the end.”

Rolando Brak Alert and zipped an Opening Quarter-Mijl in 22.71 seconds. After half a mile, he led in 45.22 seconds with a length and half a mile and through three after six furlongs in 1: 09.08.

“The whole plan is with him, I tried to settle down, whatever happens,” said Velazquez. “I had a good close position from outside. We thought two horses had speed in us. And I had something like that, I mean, I got a good position. I’m just going to try to keep it as far as possible.”

That turned out to be the full mile. Rolando was never challenged in the track when the other fast species fell away. The late-running Barbadian runner gathered in the second, but was never a threat to the winner. Lured away, far back in the end early, gathered in third place. The favorite flood zone, early early, faded to the fifth.

Rolando paid $ 8.80 to win and was at the top of an exact $ 18.50 for a deployment of one dollar.

Rolando is from the winning Tapizar Mare Mixteca. Mixteca, who won twice in five career trips, is a half-sister of the best trainee of Gutierrez, Letruska, the 2021 Eclipse Champion Older Dirt Female after a season in which she won four degrees 1 races.

“He is a horse with a lot of quality,” said Gutierrez. “He liked the track, the competition. I am very happy with this.”

Notes The Petramalo Mile is named after Frank Petramalo, the old executive director of the Virginia Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. Petramalo attended today’s races, beautifully in a striped blazer … One race later the reputation blended the field to win the Tyson Gilpin deployment for second -year Fallies with almost seven lengths and received seven Furlongs in 1: 21.14. Javier Castellano was in the IJzers for trainer Gustavo Delgado …