A fixture in the Open over the course of the last couple of seasons, Gigfy has been the star among trotters in the opening month of the meet at Saratoga Casino Hotel. On Sunday afternoon (Feb. 20), the Brian Mattison trainee made it look easy prevailing in the feature.
Gigfy was the betting public’s 4-5 favourite in the $15,000 Open Trot and wasted no time taking the lead. Driver Alek Chartrand powered the speedy trotter to an early and easy lead and, from there, it was over. The eight-year-old son of Broadway Hall cruised unopposed through a first half in 59 seconds and never faced an anxious moment before stopping the timer in 1:56.2.
The win was his second in three starts in the Open this year with a second-place finish sandwiched in between the victories. Longshot Xcuseme (John Stark Jr.) sat the pocket to the winner and wound up as the runner-up while Powerscourt (Mickey McGivern) rounded out the triple. The exacta and triple with the favourite on top paid $36.80 and $341, respectively.
Gigfy is owned by Gerald D’Alessandro of Ocala, Florida and Bridgette Mattison of Watervliet, New York. With the two Open wins in opening month, Gigfy has already surpassed his total from 2021 when he recorded just one victory in the feature for trotters.
Live racing continues on Monday afternoon at Saratoga with a President’s Day matinee set to kick off at noon.
(With files from Saratoga)