The John Mongeon Sr. Memorial Trot returned to Saratoga Casino Hotel on Sunday, April 21 with three $13,699 divisions opening up the series action as part of the first leg.
Pembroke Traveler (pictured above) kicked off the series in race four with trainer Mcgwire Sowers in the bike.
Sowers sent his trainee to the top from post seven and the pair battled Grit Man (Brett Beckwith) for the top through the :29.4 opening panel. After that split, Pembroke Traveler found his spot along the pylons in the lead. He maintained his lead through the 1:00.3 half and 1:29.3 three-quarters before winning comfortably by two lengths in 1:59. Grit Man finished second and Packmia (Chris Long) took the show spot.
Autym Robinson owns the four-year-old Pembroke Slugger-Pembroke Conifer gelding, who earned his fourth win in 10 starts this season. A winner of $95,557, Pembroke Traveler has six career victories in 33 starts. He paid $6.10 to win.
Tacticland and Jim Devaux teamed up to take the second division of the Mongeon Memorial Trot.
Devaux shot the Paul Dudka student from post two straight to the front and the pair never looked back, maintaining a 1-1/2-length lead through panels in :29.3, 1:00.4 and 1:30.2. Delta Win (Margaret Spagnola) posed a heavy threat down the stretch, but Tacticland held on for the win by a half length in 2:00.3. Delta Win had to settle for second and Sum Kinda Good (Matthew Athearn) completed the top three.
Tacticland (Tactical Landing-Gypsy Wind) earned his third win of the year from 11 starts. The four-year-old gelding moved his career sum to $36,083 through 25 races for owner Tina Rafferty. As the bettors' choice in the mile, he returned $2.70 for the win.
Queen Indeed took the final series division of the afternoon with Billy Dobson holding the lines for Gary Levine.
Dobson and Queen Indeed left hard from post seven, getting caught on the outside in the lead through the opening panel in :30. After that split, Queen Indeed continued in the lead along the pylons. The four-year-old E L Titan-Queen Of More mare hit the half in 1:01.1 and three-quarters in 1:31.1 before continuing on uncontested to the victory in 2:00.2 by two lengths. Sunnys Rebel (Matthew Athearn) finished second with Barnello (Brian Cross) third.
Queen Indeed is a winner of three races from eight starts this season and five races from 32 career starts. She moved her career sum to $69,621 with the victory. As the favourite in the race, she paid $5.30 to win.
The second leg of the John Mongeon Sr. Memorial Trot will be contested on Sunday, April 28 and the third leg on Sunday, May 5, worth a $10,000 USD purse apiece. The $25,000 USD final and $12,500 USD consolation will be contested on Sunday, May 12.
Discus Hanover won the $20,548 Winners Over/Open Handicap Trot on the Sunday matinee card from gate-to-wire.
Jim Devaux and the David Dewhurst-trained Credit Winner-Dancing Flames gelding made every pole a winning one through panels in :28.2, :58 and 1:26.4 before zooming home to a 2-3/4-length score in 1:56.3. Powerscourt (Mickey McGivern) pocketed second and Malibu Kid (Larry Stalbaum) overcame a parked-out mile to take third.
Dewhurst co-owns the seven-year-old gelding with Philip Hale. In 10 starts so far this year, Discus Hanover has won three races and in 114 lifetime starts, he has won 44 races with just over $250,000 banked. He returned $5.90 to win.
(With files from Saratoga Casino Hotel)