It was only fitting that Primo Uomo wrapped up his breakout year with his first Saratoga Open Pace victory on Saturday night, Dec. 16.
The Dave Dewhurst trainee enjoyed a monster season in which he won the Dr. Richard Frank Memorial Pacing Series at the Spa in the spring and continued to improve with every passing month. The three-year-old Heston Blue Chip-Primadonna gelding joined the track's top class last month after defeating Vernon Open pacers and finished second. Following a third-place finish last week at Batavia Downs, Primo Uomo started from post three on Saturday for his try in Saratoga's final Open Pace of the 2023 campaign.
Chris Long picked up the catch-drive behind the sophomore, who showed speed to wind up in the pocket in the $15,000 feature. The favoured Willie Go West N (Brett Beckwith) set fast fractions of :27.1 and :56.4 on the front-end while Primo Uomo waited in the wings. Longshot East End (Billy Dobson), who debuted in the Spa's Open with a third-place finish last week, came from well off the pace on Saturday and was motoring home before losing a photo with eventual winner Primo Uomo, who stopped the timer in 1:54.2. Willie Go West N, the 2-5 public choice in the wagering, had to settle for the show spot.
Primo Uomo’s win was his 16th of the year to put him among the top 10 winning horses in North America. Earnings from the Saturday score moved the Dewhurst trainee to a seasonal bankroll of just shy of $115,000.
Primo Uomo paid $9.20 to win and led an exacta and triple that returned $61.50 and $182, respectively.
The pacer is owned by Chris and Dale Lawton of New York.
Sunday afternoon's matinee serves as the final card for the 2023 season before racing resumes in early February.
(With files from Saratoga Casino Hotel)