Burkentine Hanover recorded his first victory in the local Open Pace at Saratoga Casino and Raceway behind a gutsy first over effort in Saturday’s feature.

The five-year-old son of Cams Card Shark finished third in his first try in the local Open last week, but on Saturday would not be denied. Stephane Bouchard piloted the Heidi Rohr-trained pacer and moved first over on Panocchio (Gerry Mattison), who was seeking his fifth Open win of the year at the Spa. Burkentine Hanover battled the front-runner for close to a half-mile before poking his nose out in time to prevail in 1:51.4. Panocchio held on for second while the race’s favourite, Domethatagain (Billy Dobson), had to settle for third.

The victory was number seven on the season for Burkentine Hanover, who returned $8.00 to win and led an exacta and triple that came back $29 and $104, respectively.

(With files from Saratoga Raceway)