The Fillies and Mares Open was contested as the feature on Wednesday’s program at Saratoga Casino Hotel. After a scratch, the field was reduced to five members but what a strong group of distaffers it was. Dibaba N (Shadow Play) made her local debut a winning one last Thursday (November 21) and was the public’s even money favorite on Wednesday as she looked to go back-to-back in the $18,000 Fillies and Mares Open. Billy Dobson flashed speed with the Jose Godinez trainee who wound up yielding to fellow invader Tequila Monday (Mark Beckwith) to get a pocket trip. Those two mares squared off just two weeks ago at Dover Downs in Delaware with Dibaba N pacing past Tequila Monday in the final strides to secure the victory. The rematch wound up as a near carbon copy of the first battle between them as Dibaba N pounced out of the pocket and rolled past Tequila Monday to secure her third win in a row. Now two-for-two at Saratoga, Dibaba N stopped the timer in 1:52.4 in what was her seventh victory of the campaign. Tequila Monday was the runner-up and completed a $9.50 exacta. Miss Irish Rose A (Larry Stalbaum) finished third. Dibaba N is owned by the Blindswitch, Robert Cooper, VIP Internet and J&T Silva Stables.
Live racing resumes on Saturday evening and will feature a Pick Five carryover of $3,819. The Pick Five is a 50 cent minimum wager and starts in the evening’s first race. First post time is set for 6:45pm.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino
