Big Box Hanover (Uncle Peter) made his local debut a winning one on Monday afternoon at Saratoga Casino Hotel. Larry Stalbaum took over the training duties of the four year old trotter this week and powered him out in the early going in Monday’s $15,000 feature. Big Box Hanover worked hard posting a 27.1 first quarter before getting a half in 57 seconds. The race’s favorite Squee Hanover (Billy Dobson) got away last and ran into some traffic trouble while pursuing Big Box Hanover who had plenty left late in the mile to win in 1:56. Squee Hanover was the runner-up in the Open Trot for the second consecutive week while Gigfy (Alek Chartrand) finished third. The exacta and triple with the 2-1 second choice winning the race paid $10.80 and $67.50, respectively. The win for Big Box Hanover, who is owned by Bruce Soulsby and Dalton Walls of Ohio, was his eighth of the year for a trotter who has earned six figures in all three of his career racing seasons. Stalbaum maintains a slight lead over Melissa Beckwith in the battle to be leading trainer for the 2021 campaign at the Spa.
The Pick Five was not hit for the second consecutive day on Monday and leaves a carryover of $13,412 for Tuesday’s installment of the Pick Five which starts in the matinee’s first race at noon.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simser
