HP Mary Sunshine shone bright on a dark and rainy day in Saratoga Springs on Monday afternoon (Oct. 30) when the Francis Raia II-trained mare scored a big upset in the Bunny Lake Pacing Series final.
A leg one winner in the Saratoga Raceway series, the four-year-old by Sunshine Beach flashed early speed in the $37,800 final and wound up sitting the pocket to the favoured Bri Express N (Jim McKneight Jr.).
Bri Express N was the 4-5 favourite while one week removed from being upset as the big favourite in her division of the third leg of the series.
The favourite travelled unopposed in a first half of :57.1 and braced for the late challenge from the race’s longshot, the 35-1 HP Mary Sunshine. It was HP Mary Sunshine who emerged victorious in a series final that was clocked in 1:55.1 over a track labelled ‘sloppy.’ Bri Express N came up second-best while leg three winner Premier Star (Brett Beckwith) earned the show spot.
HP Mary Sunshine paid $72.50 to win as the longest shot on the board in the eight-horse final and led an exacta and triple that returned $456 and $1514, respectively.
HP Mary Sunshine, who is owned by Rick’s Stable LLC of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, adds her name to the list of Bunny Lake Pace winners, which consists of North Country and Way Too Sweet.
Live harness racing will resume on Saturday evening at Saratoga and will feature a carryover in the early Pick 5 of $6,920. The Pick 5 begins in the first race, which is slated for 5 p.m.
(Saratoga Casino Hotel)