Belmont Royale N (Betterthancheddar) made his debut at Saratoga Casino Hotel last month. The nine year old pacer joined the stable of conditioner Melissa Beckwith and following two qualifiers moved right into the local Open Pace. In his first three tries in the regular Saturday feature, Belmont Royale N was the runner-up. On Saturday, Aaron Byron pulled first-over in the $16,500 Open with Belmont Royale N as longshot Hunter Hill (Leon Bailey) cut the mile. Hunter Hill worked hard in the early going and after checking in at the half in 55.3, was confronted by Belmont Royale N who meant business when he overpowered the leader pacing a third quarter in 27.1 and powering away from the competition. The favored Mydadsaid A (Jacob Cutting) gained a bit of ground around the final turn but proved to be no match for Belmont Royale N in the stretch as he recorded a win of a length and three-quarters in a time of 1:51.4, by far the fastest of the still young season at the Spa. Mydadsaid A was the runner-up in the Open while longshot Hunter Hill held on to be third. Belmont Royale N, an earner of more than $370,000 in his career, is owned by Archie McNeil and Bill O’Donnell. His win was the first of back-to-back victories for the Beckwith-Byron combo on the matinee card as their Heisman Player recorded a decisive score in a race for $12,500 claiming pacers. That tandem wound up with a triple on the day when their Literl Lad Hanover overcame post eight to take the finale and record his fourth consecutive win.
Live racing continues on Sunday and will feature a $5,209 carryover in the early Pick Five. The wager starts in race one and is a fifty cent bet. First post time is 12pm.
Mike Sardella | Saratoga Casino Hotel | Saratoga Springs, NY
Jessica Hallett photo
