Dominion stayed hot on a chilly afternoon at Saratoga Casino Hotel on Wednesday, Nov. 5, when the Brielle Roman-trained four-year-old won for the fourth time in his last five starts.
Drawing the rail for his try in the $14,085 optional-claiming trot, Dominion wound up as the public’s odds-on favourite and prevailed for the fourth time in the class, with one start up in company in between.
Justin Huckabone piloted Dominion, who got away second and was content to sit the pocket to rival Struttin Yankee (Leon Bailey) in the first lap through fractions of :30.1 and 1:00.2. The favourite was guided to the outside by Huckabone approaching three-quarters in 1:29.3 and quickly imposed his will. Dominion cruised away by four lengths in the stretch before stopping the timer in 1:58.4. Struttin Yankee was the runner-up to the razor-sharp Dominion while Nifty Fifty (Chris Long) came on to finish third.
Dominion, owned by Matthew Dugan, is now four-for-15 on the year. The son of Face Time Bourbon-With Me Always tallied his sixth career victory and raised his bankroll to $50,182 in 39 starts. He returned $2.22 at the windows.
Live racing resumes at Saratoga on Sunday and will feature a mandatory payout of the jackpot in the Super High 5 in the afternoon’s finale. The jackpot sits at more than $20,000. First post time for the Sunday matinee is set for noon.
(Saratoga Raceway)