On an evening that saw an historic upset in the Kentucky Derby, the featured race at Saratoga Casino Hotel consisted of a shocker of its own. The 2-5 betting favorite in the $31,900 J.P. Morel Memorial Pacing Series Final was JM’s Rockin. This Monticello invader had not only gone eight for eight in the win column this year but hadn’t trailed at any point in a mile this season.

Making every pole a winning one en route to put together the incredible win streak, JM’s Rollin was poised to once again cut the mile in the Series Final. Behind the gate though, the race’s big favorite made an untimely and extended break taking him out of the mix at the get go. The Final became wide open at that point and two-leg winner Mega Miki (Leon Bailey) took to the first-over path approaching the half. A closer in each of his consecutive victories heading into Saturday night, Mega Miki posted a career-best matching 1:55 win in leg two of the series when he sprung an upset at odds of 8-1 with Bailey in the bike.

In the Final, the four year old Joel Flanders trainee came a back half in under 57 seconds before drawing away from his rivals in the stretch to become the ninth winner in the history of the J.P. Morel Memorial Series. 43-1 shot Lannister Hanover (Wally Hennessey) charged hard late to finish second while leg one winner Pound For Pound (Shawn Gray) closed to be third in a race that was a longshot bettor’s delight.

The winner paid a middling $12.80 on top but the exacta and triple returned a bulky $631 and $4,721, respectively. Mega Miki is owned by Joel and Karen Flanders of Argyle, NY.

Live racing continues on Sunday afternoon at Saratoga with a first post time set for 12 Noon. There will be a Pick Six Jackpot of $7,619. The Pick Six is a $.20 wager.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser

Monday afternoon’s feature saw a group of six distaffers take part in the $15,000 Fillies and Mares Open at Saratoga Casino Hotel. Probert (Dali) made her Spa debut and wound up as the 3-5 betting favorite in the ladies’ feature. Wally Hennessey sat behind the five year old mare for trainer Melissa Beckwith who recorded a second and a third place finish in two starts with the mare while racing at Plainridge last month.

Hennessey wasted very little time moving the favorite out to the early lead on Monday and gave her a nice breather in the second quarter before reaching the half in 58 seconds. From there, the speedy Probert powered through a third quarter in 27 seconds flat before being met with the challenge of Birch Island Betty (Chris Long) in the stretch. After getting a pocket ride behind the Open’s favorite, Birch Island Betty powered out of the two-hole and made a run at Probert in the stretch before coming up short by just a head in 1:53.

The winner, who came a back half in 55 seconds flat, is owned by Howard Jacobs, Jim Winske and Marcus Kemblowski. Probert paid $3.40 to win. The exacta with Birch Island Betty second came back $34.40 while the triple which was completed by Dashintothebeach N (Jimmy Devaux) returned $105.50. Hennessey piloted three winners on the Monday matinee card.

Live racing resumes on Saturday night at Saratoga and features a Pick Five carryover of $3,401. The Pick Six Jackpot sits at $7,013. The Pick Six encompasses race 8-13 on the program that starts at 5PM.

Saratoga Casino Hotel | Saratoga Springs, New York

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser

The start to the season hasn’t been perfect for the Scott Mongeon-trained Perfect Vixen (Muscles Yankee) but it’s been close. The three year old filly came into the John Mongeon Sr. Memorial Trotting Series as the one to beat after winning four races in five starts in the 2022 campaign. The clear favorite in the ninth annual installment of the Mongeon Memorial Series, Perfect Vixen set a lifetime mark in leg one scoring in 1:56.2 with John Stark Jr. in the sulky.

After drawing post eight, the filly had to settle for a third-place finish in leg two while squaring off against a strong group of competitors. On Sunday, Stark wasted very little time moving the race’s 1-5 betting favorite out to the lead where she never encountered an anxious moment before scoring in 1:56.3 to cement her role as the one to knock off heading into next Sunday’s Series Final. Titan On the Rail (Mickey McGivern) closed well to be second and finished his legs of the series with a win and a pair of seconds. Gavinator (Brett Crawford) earned the show spot.

In the other $10,000 division of the series’ third leg, Charlatan Hanover (Uncle Peter) powered out to the early lead and the leg two runner-up rolled to victory from there. Wally Hennessey piloted Charlatan Hanover to the front-running win as the Gary Levine trainee punched his ticket to next Sunday’s Final behind a 1:58 score. The win was one of four on the afternoon for Hennessey.

Live racing continues on Monday afternoon at Saratoga and will feature a Jackpot in the Pick Six that sits at $6,358 beginning in race eight. First post time is set for Noon.

Saratoga Casino Hotel | Saratoga Springs, New York

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser

Record Year, trained by Jaymes McAssesy and driven by Billy Dobson, won Saturday night’s feature at Saratoga in 1:53.2

Watermelon Sugar (Huntsville) extended her impressive win streak on Monday afternoon at Saratoga Casino Hotel as the Brian Cross-trained and driven filly continues to dazzle in her first season on the track. Watermelon Sugar stepped up into the $10,500 winners of two but not more than five race lifetime condition last week (April 19) and scored a career-best victory. On Monday, the three year old was tasked with taking on a big favorite in her race and despite coming in on a five race win streak, Watermelon Sugar was the second choice in the wagering. With the favorite on the front end, Brian Cross sat patiently with his stable’s newest star before unleashing her approaching the half mile pole. Watermelon Sugar surged right past the favorite before opening up an imposing lead at the three quarter pole and going on to win in 1:54.2, a new lifetime mark. The filly will head into next week’s Virginia O’Brien Pacing Series as the one to beat being that she will be riding a six-race win streak for owner Brian Rozell of Queensbury, NY. In her most recent victory, Watermelon Sugar paid $5.80 to win and moved her seasonal bankroll to over the $40,000 mark in just nine starts.

Live racing resumes on Saturday evening at Saratoga with a first post time set for 5PM.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser

Photo by: Cheyanne Mandy

photo by: Cheyanne Mandy

Cash Me Out (Cash Hall) loves to win and did what he loves once again on Sunday afternoon at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The Kyle Spagnola-trained trotter is one of the winningest horses of all time at the Spa and the veteran is showing no signs of letting up. With one victory under his belt in 2022, Cash Me Out was back into the featured race for trotters last week when he finished fourth. On Sunday afternoon, the eleven year old was the 2-1 second-choice in the wagering in the $15,000 Open Trot and flashed early speed to get the lead with driver Phil Fluet at the controls. Cash Me Out cruised unopposed through a first half in 59.4 and really felt just mild pressure after checking in a three-quarters in 1:28.3. The millionaire highstepper then kicked away turning for home while under just mild encouragement from Fluet to secure another victory in the Open stopping the timer in 1:57.1. The win was number 71 in the career of Cash Me Out who is owned by Mike Traylor of Ballston Spa, NY. Longshot Bold Creation (Leon Bailey) finished second while Gigfy (Alek Chartrand) earned the show spot to hit the board in the Open for the seventh time in his eight seasonal starts. Cash Me Out paid $6.70 to win and led an exacta and triple that returned $76.50 and $219.50, respectively.

Live racing continues on Monday afternoon with a matinee beginning at Noon.

Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simser

Hudson Phil prevailed in the first installment of the Open Pace this season at Saratoga Casino Hotel in early February. The Jackie Greene trainee has been a force at the Spa for the last few years and is once again establishing himself as a top-flight pacer in the early stages of the ’22 campaign. After springing an upset on opening weekend, Hudson Phil had a second, a third and a fourth in the local Open before hitting the board in consecutive starts at Yonkers Raceway. On Saturday night, the seven year old was back in town and wound up as the 8-5 betting favorite in the $15,000 Open Pace at the Spa. Billy Dobson piloted the Greene-trained pacer who sat back in the early going as several rivals slugged it out in the first half. After watching the first half go in 56 seconds, Hudson Phil started to make his move and tipped three-wide approaching the three-quarter pole before swooping the group and opening up a big lead. Hudson Phil drew away from the competition to win by almost seven lengths in 1:53 to record his second Open win of the season. Mikibytheseaside (Jay Randall) made his Open Pace debut on Saturday and finished second despite drawing post eight while Elite Retreat (Jimmy Devaux) earned the show spot. Hudson Phil paid $5.30 to win and led an exacta and triple that came back $17 and $164.50, respectively. The winner is owned by the Kellogg Racing Stables of Queensbury, NY who now have four victories in the Open Pace this year, two with Hudson Phil and two with local superstar Artful Way. While Dobson scored the victory in the Open, Leon Bailey was the evening’s driving star as Vernon Downs’ back-to-back top reinsman drove five winners on the Saturday card.

Live racing continues on Sunday afternoon. There is a Pick Five carryover of $2,460, a Pick Six jackpot carryover of $1,624. First post time is set for Noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser

Chasethecloudsaway (Sunshine Beach) has been a force in the Fillies and Mares Open at Saratoga Casino Hotel early in the season. A winning machine in 2021, the Chris Petrelli-trained distaffer has gotten off to a great start to her ’22 campaign as well. After winning three consecutive tries in the feature for mares in February, Chasethecloudsaway went on a two-race “losing streak” which is only noteworthy due to the fact that she has won 19 times in ’21-’22 heading into her most recent start. On Monday afternoon, the five year old came from off the pace as the race’s favorite Dashintothebeach N (Jimmy Devaux) cut the mile in her debut in the Open. That one cruised through a first half in 57.1 before being confronted by longshot Mckella (Shawn Gray) who took to the first-over path in an attempt to reel in the favorite who is the winningest horse in the young meet at the Spa. Chasethecloudsaway followed the cover until tipping off of it around the final turn as Dashintothebeach N appeared vulnerable late in the mile. The race’s second choice in the wagering at odds of 5-2, Chasethecloudsaway displayed that nose for the finish line and ranged up in time to score in the feature, stopping the timer in 1:54.1 for a new seasonal mark. Dashintothebeach N showed herself well in her debut in the Open and finished second while Mckella earned the show spot. The exacta and triple in the race returned $17 and $118.50, respectively. Chasethecloudsaway, who is now four-for-six in the $15,000 ladies’ feature this season, paid $7.60 for the win on Monday. She is owned by David Del Pozzo of Methuen, MA and was piloted to her feature score by Luke Hanners.

Live racing resumes on Saturday evening at Saratoga with a thirteen-race card set to begin at 5PM.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser