Pickup Man Hanover (Huntsville) got another chance from post position two in the Open Pace on Saturday night. The Jaymes McAssey trainee made a wire-to-wire attempt in last weekend’s installment of the Open but came up second-best although he paced his mile in a sizzling 1:51.4. Tracked down last week, Pickup Man Hanover would not be denied on Saturday evening as Hall of Fame reinsman Wally Hennessey moved the four year old out to the early lead in a fast 27.1 opening quarter.
The Pickup Man kept rolling on the engine rattling off a half in 56.1 before checking in at three quarters in 1:23.4. This week, Pickup Man Hanover proved much the best as the talented McAssey trainee powered away from the competition late to win in 1:52.2 and register his first career victory in the Open Pace. Longshot Century Endeavor (Brett Beckwith) sat the pocket to the feature winner and held on to be second while dismissed at odds of 14-1 while Belmont Major N (Jimmy Devaux) came on to finish third. The James McAssey trainee paid $9.20 to win in what wound up being a two and a quarter length score as he led an exacta and triple that returned $61 and $180, respectively.
It was win number four on the season for Pickup Man Hanover who is owned by Dennis and Simone Noud of Saratoga Springs. McAssey completed a training double later in the evening when his American Artist K (Shawn Gray) recorded his second consecutive victory while competing in a race for claiming pacers.
Live racing continues on Sunday evening with a 6:45pm first post.
Saratoga Casino Hotel | Saratoga Springs, New York
