Bridge Works (Dejambro) kept his stable red hot on Monday afternoon at Saratoga Casino Hotel as the up-and-coming star scored his fourth Open Trot victory of the season. The Brett Derue barn has been on a tear this year and the top-flight conditioner added another pair of wins to his tally when Bridge Works went coast-to-coast in the $15,000 Monday feature to finish off a trainer’s double. The five year old trotter worked hard early and clicked off a first quarter of 27.3 before getting a breather to the half in 58 seconds. Bridge Works faced very little pressure before stopping the timer in 1:56.2. Lazzaro (Billy Dobson) toughed out a first-over trip to finish second in the Open while Bucketlist Hanover (Larry Stalbaum) earned the show spot. Bridge Works was the second of back-to-back winners on Monday for Derue and driver Wally Hennessey who teamed up for a victory in a $10,000 trotting race with Manny L who overcame post eight to prevail in his return to the Spa. For owners Picarazzi, Petillo, Bullard and Derue, it was the second Open win at Saratoga in as many days as their Simple Kinda Man was a resounding victor in Sunday’s $15,000 feature for pacers on Sunday afternoon. The Monday Open winner paid $5.80 to win and led an exacta and triple that returned $43 and $342.50, respectively.
Live racing continues on Tuesday afternoon with a first post set for noon.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino
