Up Helly Aa (Armbro Barrister) was the biggest longshot in the Open Trot contested on Monday afternoon at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The six year old was ignored in the wagering despite having scored in the previous Open on June 30th at odds of 28-1. Coincidentally, the Jaymes McAssey-trained trotter again was dismissed at 28-1 when he drew post position four in Monday’s $16,000 feature. Billy Dobson sat behind Up Helly Aa who got away fifth in the six-horse Open and sat nearly eight lengths off the lead at the half mile pole. The upset-minded highstepper picked up the cover of the favored Dewey Arnold (Jimmy Devaux) who made steady progress in the second half on leader Coventry Hall (Jacob Cutting) who set eye-popping first-half fractions of 26.4 and 55.1. The closers surged around the final turn and Up Helly Aa tipped off the cover before storming home to score in 1:56.2 to spring the upset over Dewey Arnold and Coventry Hall who finished second and third, respectively. After paying $58.50 to win in last week’s upset, Up Helly Aa returned $58.00 in Monday’s repeat score.
