On Monday, Mr Cool Seaeyre N (The Pres) did what no other trotter has been able to do in the Step Up To The Plate Claiming Series when he defeated Esa. Brett Derue trains Mr Cool Seaeyre N who followed up a leg one third-place finish with a runner-up try in leg two. Making the second-place finish more impressive is that he made a costly early break in that start before racing parked to finish second. In Monday’s $25,000 third leg, Mr Cool Seaeyre N moved out to the early lead stuffing the odds-on favorite Esa (Luke Hanners) into the pocket. The eleven year old veteran held firm throughout and withstood a late bid from the favorite before clocking a 1:57 victory to seemingly punch his ticket to next week’s Series Final. Mr Cool Seaeyre N paid $12.20 to win in the mild upset. Esa, who scored victories in the first two legs of the Series, came up second best on Monday while Conquest As (Chris Long) earned the show spot.
Brett Beckwith piloted Mr Cool Seaeyre N to his Monday score and also sat behind leg three’s other victor. Life Well Lived (Muscle Mass) moved his record to two-for-two since the claim by trainer Kevin McDermott when he shook free late to edge out rival JNR Express in the final stride to go back-to-back, stopping the timer in 1:57. JNR Express (Jay Randall) was the runner-up in all three legs of the Series heading into next week’s Final while Fair Glider (Matt Athearn) finished third. Both Life Well Lived and JNR Express were claimed out of leg three. Brett Beckwith piloted four winners on the card including the sweep of the $25,000 co-feature Step Up To The Plate Series’ third leg.
Live racing continues on Tuesday afternoon and features the second leg of the fillies and mares version of the Step Up To The Plate Claiming Series. First post time is set for noon.
Photo: Jessica Hallett
Saratoga Casino Hotel | Saratoga Springs, New York
