There were three divisions of the second leg for the John Mongeon Sr. Memorial Trotting Series contested on Monday afternoon (May 17) at Saratoga Casino Hotel. Trotters had their final chance to acquire points towards punching tickets to the $30,000-plus final.
The leg-one dominant force cemented his series favourite status as Dewey Arnold again proved much the best. The Dave Dewhurst trainee came into leg two on a four-race win streak and left it with five-consecutive victories under his belt. Jimmy Devaux piloted the three-year-old to yet another decisive, front-stepping romp in his $10,000 division of the series as he stopped the timer in a dazzling 1:55.4. Battle Queen finished second to Dewey Arnold for the second-consecutive week and locked her spot in next week’s Final. Dewey Arnold gave Devaux one of his five driving wins on the matinee program.
Royal Soldier got a pocket trip for trainer-driver Dan Cappello Jr. and proved ready for the task in his division of the series. The five-year-old cruised through the open stretch before stopping the timer in 1:57.3 to set a lifetime mark and secure his spot in the final. Royal Soldier paid $6.30 to win as he ended the win streak of Cindy Michelle.
Leg-one winner Cindy Michelle was her race’s favourite as she came into leg two off four-consecutive victories. The first-over trip got the best of her on Monday though she finished a strong third and will be part of the final.
There was a longshot winner in the Mongeon Memorial’s second leg. Ruthless Workout parlayed his pocket trip into victory with leading driver Billy Dobson at the controls. Ruthless Workout, who is trained by Scott Mongeon, sprung the upset while dismissed at odds of 17-1.
Live racing continues on Tuesday afternoon (May 18) with first-race post time set for 12 p.m. (EDT).
(Saratoga Casino Hotel)