Redbank Blaze A (Rocknroll Hanover) made his first start outside of Open company at Saratoga Casino Hotel on Saturday night. The Jose Godinez trainee had three races under his belt at the Spa and all three had come in the $18,000 Open Pace. On Saturday, the six year old dropped down to the $15,000 Winners Over, a race that with no Open on the docket served as the evening’s feature. Redbank Blaze A drew the rail and was subsequently the public’s 3-5 betting favorite with Frank Coppola Jr. sitting behind. The favorite wasted little time moving out to the front-end after retaking the lead from In A Single Bound (Billy Dobson) approaching the quarter. Redbank Blaze A cruised unopposed for the majority of the mile and started to pad his lead past three quarters. In A Single Bound began to tire a bit in the pocket as longshot Shady City came on in the stretch in what turned out to be a battle for the place spot as Redbank Blaze A drew away to win decisively in 1:53.2. Shady City went off at odds of 41-1 and endured a difficult trip from post eight to be the runner-up in the feature while In A Single Bound held on for third. Redbank Blaze A, who is owned by Marissa Godinez of Bloomingburg, NY, led an exacta and triple that paid $100.50 and $473.50, respectively.
Live racing continues on Sunday afternoon with a matinee that kicks off at 12 Noon.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino
