For the second consecutive Saturday, Heaven On High N went coast-to-coast to win the Open Handicap Pace at Saratoga Casino Hotel.
Mcgwire Sowers picked up the catch-drive for the June 29 feature for trainer Larry Stalbaum. Heaven On High N was assigned post seven for his try in this installment of the $20,540 Open, contested over a sloppy track.
The New Zealand invader powered up to the front in a sizzling first quarter of :26.3 and never let up. Heaven On High N rattled off middle half fractions of :55.1 and 1:23.1 before drawing away at the top of the stretch en route to a 1:51.4 victory of 3-1/4 lengths. The winning time matched the previous lifetime mark that the talented pacer set at Yonkers in 2023.
Longshot Talking Tom (Chris Long) shook loose in the lane and came on to finish second at odds of 18-1 while Im No Outlaw N (Brett Beckwith), who got the pocket ride behind the Open winner, had to settle for third. Heaven On High N paid $8.60 in what was his third Open score of the season at the Spa. He also led an exacta and trifecta that returned $52.50 and $718, respectively.
Heaven On High N, a seven-year-old son of Rock N Roll Heaven, is owned by Shark Racing Stable of Bainbridge, New York.
Live harness racing continues on Sunday, June 30 at Saratoga with a matinee that begins at noon.
(With files from Saratoga Casino Hotel)