Surreal Feeling continued a super stretch for her connections on Tuesday afternoon (Oct. 27) as the five-year-old distaffer prevailed in the Fillies and Mares Open.
Owners Chris and Dale Lawton won last week’s Open with their star sophomore Racine Bell. Dave Dewhurst trains that filly who had another terrific season in the New York Sire Stakes this summer before winning her first local Open last Tuesday (Oct 20). This week, the Lawtons’ Lindas In Heaven (Rock N Roll Heaven) won his fourth consecutive race at Saratoga. The young pacer went coast-to-coast with reinsman Jimmy Devaux in the sulky on Tuesday to complete a grand slam for the three year old colt.
In the afternoon’s $9,350 feature, Surreal Feeling went wire-to-wire with Devaux in the bike. The five-year-old was coming off a qualifier in which she won by fifteen lengths. Surreal Feeling, who won her first local Open last July, registered her second local score in decisive fashion stopping the timer in 1:54.3. The mare finished second or third in her three previous tries in the Open contested this summer before heading to race at Yonkers for a month.
On Tuesday, the mare proved dominant in recording her fourth victory in 11 seasonal starts. Birch Island Betty closed to be second while Bontz N lengthened her “on the board streak” when she came on to be third, finishing “in the money” for the sixth-consecutive start.
Surreal Feeling paid $9.20 to win in the mild upset and led an exacta and triple that came back $43.80 and $223, respectively. Dale Lawton trains both Surreal Feeling and Lindas In Heaven who were two of Devaux’s four winners on the Tuesday card.
Live racing resumes on Monday afternoon at Saratoga with a first post set for 12 p.m. (EDT).
(Saratoga Casino Hotel)