Campanile (No Pan Intended) made her return to the winner’s circle on Thursday night at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The Chris Marino-trained mare came into the Fillies and Mares Open with eight wins on the year but the classy distaffer had gone winless since mid-May in the local feature. Campanile got the pocket ride in the $15,000 Open behind the race’s favorite Bye Bye Michelle (Stephane Bouchard) and reeled that rival in in the final strides. Campanile stopped the timer in 1:53.2 while pulling off a mild upset at odds of 9-2. Bye Bye Michelle was the runner up and completed an exacta that returned $26.80 while the triple with longshot Hipnumberone (Jim Devaux) third paid $187.50. For Campanile, it was the sixth win in the local feature this season. The seven year old mare was piloted to victory by Austin Siegelman.
Live racing continues on Friday night at Saratoga with a first post time set for 7:05pm.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino
