Givenupdreaming (If I Can Dream) matched the fastest time of the year at Saratoga Casino Hotel on Saturday night as the Heidi Rohr-trained pacer scored a wire-to-wire win in the evening’s feature. Givenupdreaming had yet to be on the front end in his starts since coming to the Spa but the meet’s leading driver Stephane Bouchard put the standout pacer right onto the lead in Saturday’s $15,000 Open Pace. Givenupdreaming had little difficultly going coast to coast and did so at odds of 3-5. E Z Noah (Billy Dobson) got the pocket ride behind the winner and wound up as the runner up while Respectable Dream (Mark Beckwith) earned the show spot. Givenupdreaming stopped the timer in 1:51, a time made even more impressive by the fact that after a host of powerful storms went through Saratoga, the track condition was sloppy. The win time of 1:51 matched Artful Way’s clocking from a start in the Open on July 2nd as the fastest of the year at the Spa. The victory in the feature was one of three on the night for Bouchard who still holds a fairly comfortable lead in the local driver standings as he pursues what would be his first local driving title.
Live racing resumes on Tuesday night at Saratoga with a first post time of 7:05pm.
Mike Sardella
Photo : Melissa Simser-Iovino
