A trio of $7,500 second-leg divisions of the Holiday Trot Series was contested on Wednesday afternoon (Dec. 5) at Saratoga Casino Hotel.
Jimmy Nickerson’s AWOL Hanover (by Donato Hanover) and Phil Fluet’s Barn Star (Conway Hall) recorded wins in the Wednesday leg.
Barn Star could well head into next week’s Final as the one to beat after prevailing in 1:58.2 for the second consecutive start. Fluet trains and drives the four-year-old who recorded the win off of a pocket trip.
Barn Star has been the fastest winner in each of the two preliminary legs. Barn Star is poised to square off with AWOL Hanover in the $20,000 final.
On Wednesday, AWOL Hanover cruised to the front end and never looked back. Jay Randall piloted the Nickerson-trained trotter who held off a late charge from rival JS Trotting Bob and stopped the clock in 2:00.
The final division of the day saw a mild upset, as Aventure (Muscle Mass) came from off the pace to prevail with leading driver Billy Dobson in the sulky. The mile was clocked in 2:00. The win for Aventure came at odds of 6-1 and served as the third on the card for Dobson.
Live racing at Saratoga will continue on Thursday. First post will be at 12 noon.
(With files from Saratoga Casino Hotel)