Chaka can in Rockingham stakes record time

Overlooked by the crowd at 42-1, Chaka Blue Chip won the $20,000 final of the Belle Acton Series and the first race of her career in stakes record time at Rockingham Park on Sunday.

After setting easy fractions of :27.2, :56.2, and 1:24.4 for three quarters of the one-mile event for 3 and 4-year-old fillies and mares, 2-5 favorite Beautiful Shay looked like she'd continue to have things all her way to the wire. But then in deep stretch Beautiful Shay found herself in a two-way struggle with 16-1 shot Tap Toes and the winner and she faded to third. When Chaka Blue Chip crossed under the wire in 1:54.2 on a fast track, the lightly-raced 3-year-old filly not only broke her maiden and bested her more experienced elders, she did it in the fastest time that the Belle Acton has been contested in since harness racing was returned to Rockingham in 2003.

While the bettors didn't give Chaka Blue Chip much of a chance in the eight-horse field, her driver believed in her.

"I really thought we had a shot," Sean Bier said. "She's been racing really good and last week she raced super (when finishing fourth to Beautiful Shay in the series second leg) but had a bad trip."

Chaka Blue Chip, who is trained by Crissy Crissman and owned by Ram Racing Stable of Maine, returned $87, $55.80, and $15.50 and keyed a $758 perfecta and a $2,180.40 trifecta. The bay daughter of Art Major and the Jate Lobell mare Shady Babie, who was making just her fifth start and had only brought home $1,410 before, is clearly on the rise and learning her racing lessons. In her five outings, she has successively lowered her times from 2:16 to 2:00.1, 1:59.1, 1:57.2 and 1:54.2.

In the $10,000 Open Trot it was 3-2 favorite Slim Down, holder of two track and New England records, who finished first in 1.56.2 with Cocktail Hour and Mister Lucky Vec completing the trifecta ($70.60). (Rockingham Park)

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