Sassy Hanover secured his first ever Open Pace victory at Saratoga Casino Hotel on Saturday (March 11) as the six-year-old son of Cams Card Shark parlayed the pocket ride to the win in the $12,000 feature.

Billy Dobson is the regular pilot of Sassy Hanover and the leading driver chose to yield early on to Roethblissberger (Mark Beckwith). The move was the winning one on the cold night as the Simone Noud trainee roared out of the pocket and cruised past Roethblissberger to win in 1:54.2.

Sassy Hanover, who has been second in the Open in the previous two weeks, paid $5.60 to win as the race’s 9-5 betting favourite. Last year’s Pacer of the Year at the Spa, Artful Way (Frank Coppola Jr.), came from last to finish second in the feature while Roethblissberger held on for third. The exacta returned $25.40 while the triple paid $118 in the six-horse Open.

Sassy Hanover is owned by Dennis and Simone Noud of Saratoga Springs.

Live racing continues on Sunday afternoon at Saratoga with a first post time set for 12:15 p.m.

(Saratoga Casino Hotel)