Summit City Sonny (Dover Dan) hasn’t lost a race at Saratoga Casino Hotel since mid-February and the Jesse McAssey-trained trotter extended that win streak on Sunday afternoon. He prevailed in his first ever try in the local Open when on March 19th, the four year old sprung the upset in the Sunday feature.
Following a two-race stint at Yonkers, it was back to the Spa on Sunday for the McAssey stable star who again was fairly ignored by the betting public who dismissed him at odds of 9-1. Leon Bailey is the regular driver for Summit City Sonny who flashed speed in the $17,000 Open Trot to wind up in the pocket behind the race’s longshot Xcuseme (John Stark Jr).
Summit City Sonny kept the leader in his sights every step up of the way before sliding out around the final turn to take on Xcuseme before ultimately powering past him to record a decisive three-plus length score in the feature. The final time of 1:55.1 marks a new career-best win time for Summit City Sonny who is co-owned by Jesse McAssey and Adam Friedland.
He paid $20.80 to win in the upset. Big Box Hanover came charging hard late to win a photo for place and complete a $90.50 exacta while Xcuseme earned the show spot in what was a $752 trifecta.
Live racing continues on Monday afternoon at Saratoga with a first post time of noon. There will be a carryover of $3,386 in the Pick Five that starts in the matinee’s first race.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Jessica Hallett
Saratoga Casino Hotel | Saratoga Springs, New York
