A break at the start looked like it might have doomed the chances of Itsonlyrocknroll A ($3.80) in Buffalo Raceway's $10,000 Open Pace on Saturday night (February 18), but in the end, he had the remaining six participants waving the white flag in surrender.
Itsonlyrocknroll A (Larry Stalbaum) continued to stamp himself as the top pacer on the Buffalo Raceway grounds by breezing to an easy three and three-quarter length victory over Bubbie Boy in 1:55.1 over the fast track. It was his fourth victory in five appearances in 2017.
Able to regroup and get back on gait going around the first turn, Itsonlyrocknroll A was in high gear to the opening quarter-mile and eventually took command going around the clubhouse turn the final time.
With Stalbaum popping the plugs before the three-quarter pole, Itsonlyrocknroll A impressively increased his lead to six lengths at the top of the stretch and jogged home from there.
The only battle to the wire was for the minor spoils as Bubbie Boy (Shawn Gray) rallied for second-place with Knocking Around (David McNeight II) rolling into third.
Itsonlyrocknroll A (Million Dollar Cam-Boldandbeautiful) is a six-year-old gelding owned by Stalbaum and trained by Kimberly Asher. The win pushed his earnings to $22,700 this season and $190,920 lifetime.
It was a great night for the Stalbaum/Asher team as Larry captured six events in the sulky while Kim conditioned four winners.
Shawn Gray posted a triple in the bike while JD Perrin notched a training four-bagger.
Racing will resume on Wednesday evening at 5 p.m. with an 11-race program scheduled.
(With files from Buffalo Raceway)