Mister Muscle (Muscle Mass) wrapped up a big day for his connections as the five year old trotter won the Sunday feature at Saratoga Casino Hotel. Melissa Beckwith and owner Patricia Schneeberger recorded three winners on the matinee card as a trio of Beckwith trainees recorded Sunday scores. Mister Muscle’s victory in the $15,000 Open Trot was his second straight with Mark Beckwith in the sulky. Dismissed at odds of 6-1 on Sunday, Mister Muscle raced parked out for the majority of the first lap before clearing in a half of 56 seconds. Though the Beckwith trainee began to tire some in the back half, Mister Muscle had enough to hang on in 1:56.3 to complete his back-to-back jacks in the Open. Longshot Uncle Leo (Jimmy Devaux) was first over on the eventual winner and finished a strong second while the longest shot on the board Silent Pine (Bruce Cooper) earned the show spot. Mister Muscle paid $14.80 to win and led big prices in exotics. The exacta returned $125 while the triple came back $715. Schneeberger and Beckwith teamed up earlier in the card for victories with Slieve League (Federal Flex) and The Great Farini (Comaro Dasolo), the latter who recorded a new lifetime mark of 1:57.1 with Jimmy Devaux in the sulky. All three of the Beckwith-trained winners’ victories on Sunday were their second consecutive.
Live racing resumes on Wednesday afternoon with a first post time set for 12 Noon.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino
