Settlemoir (Western Ideal) went coast to coast in the Saturday feature at Saratoga Casino Hotel. In his local debut last week, the Rene Allard-trained Settlemoir finished second in the $12,500 Winners Over and subsequently was the 8-5 betting favorite this week as he looked to wire the feature field. Wally Hennessey sat behind the four year old pacer as he clicked off a first quarter of 27 seconds flat. Following an effective breather in quarter two that led to a half in 56.3, Settlemoir wound up having just enough left to hold off the late bid by pocket-sitter Panocchio (Gerry Mattison) who had to settle for second. Bet You (Stephane Bouchard) earned the show spot. Settlemoir, who stopped the timer in 1:52.4 for his fourth win of the season, prevailed in just his second start following the claim by Allard at Yonkers in May.
Live racing continues on Sunday afternoon with a matinee first post set for 12:15pm.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino
