J A T O extended his winning streak while making his season's debut on Sunday afternoon (March 6) at Saratoga Casino and Raceway.
The Howard Okusko-trained trotter made his local debut in the $15,000 Open Trot, and despite getting away towards the back of the pack, he wound up getting a second over journey in the year’s first trotting feature at the Spa. J A T O cruised past rival Zooming (Billy Dobson) in the final furlong before drawing out to win in 2:02 in the 1-1/16 mile Open after covering the mile in 1:54.3.
J A T O (sired by Big Apple Deli) went 16-for-17 in the win column in 2015 and continued his winning ways on an afternoon that featured a t-shirt giveaway commemorating the 75th anniversary of racing at Saratoga.
Zooming finished second behind the 6-1 shot Open victor while Slugfest (Jay Randall) finished third in his seasonal debut.
Stephane Bouchard, who piloted the longshot winner of Saturday night’s Open Pace, was the winning driver behind J A T O on Sunday.
(With files from Saratoga Raceway)