It was a big afternoon for trainer Dave Dewhurst on Monday at Saratoga Casino Hotel as the veteran conditioner recorded a training hat trick including a pair of victories in spring series races.

Following a day in which he scored wins in the Open Trot and the Winners Over for trotters, Dewhurst was led by Primo Uomo (sired by Heston Blue Chip), who completed a sweep of the three legs of the Dr. Richard Frank Memorial Pacing Series.

Primo Uomo was used hard to get to the lead in his $17,500 division of the series but after getting to the top in a first quarter of :27.1 held firm throughout en route to a 1:54.4 romp. The sophomore pacer’s win was his ninth in 11 seasonal starts as he will head into next week’s series final as the only horse to prevail in all three legs.

Dewhurst co-owns as well as trains City Of Hope (sired by Mets Hall), who went back-to-back in the John Mongeon Sr. Memorial Trotting Series behind a career-best 1:58.1 Monday score.

After going coast-to-coast from post eight while dismissed at odds of 12-1 last week, City Of Hope again went the distance on the lead on Monday but this time as the public’s 4-5 betting favourite. City Of Hope is co-owned by Dewhurst and Philip Hale.

That pair also saw its Defiant Lady set a new lifetime mark on Monday when she prevailed in 2:00 in a $9,500 conditional race for trotters.

With the huge few days at the Spa, Dewhurst has surged into the top three in the local trainer standings. All three of Dewhurst’s Monday winners were piloted by the meet’s leading driver Jimmy Devaux.

Live harness racing continues on Tuesday at Saratoga with action beginning at 12 p.m. 

(Saratoga Casino Hotel)