With no Fillies and Mares Open on the docket on Friday night at Saratoga Casino Hotel, the $12,500 Winners Over for distaffers was the feature.
After the morning line favourite got scratched, the featured field was cut down to five participants and it was Dale Lawton’s Surreal Feeling (Jimmy Devaux) who wound up be the public’s even money favourite. A winner of the local Open last month, Surreal Feeling is having a strong campaign and drew inside major danger Bye Bye Felicia (Mark Beckwith) who was fresh off a second-place finish in last week’s Open at the Spa.
The fractions were solid for the aforementioned tandem to close into and the race’s front-runner faded sharply when confronted by a first-over Surreal Feeling approaching three-quarters. Surreal Feeling opened up a bit after checking in at three-quarters in 1:24.3 but Bye Bye Felicia followed her cover into a striking position.
Midway through the stretch, Bye Bye Felicia surged past the favourite before stopping the timer in 1:53.1 to record her first local victory on a beautiful night in the Spa City. Surreal Feeling was the runner-up while Pasultimatedelite N (Jay Randall) earned the show spot.
For the Eric Beach-trained five year old, it was win number five on the season. Bye Bye Felicia paid $7.60 to win in the feature and led an Exacta that returned $13.40.
Live racing continues on Saturday night at Saratoga with New York Sire Stakes highlighting a 14-race card. Three year old colt and gelding pacers will be featured. First post time is set for 7:05 p.m.
(Saratoga Casino Hotel)