Happy Heart, an occasional participant in the Fillies and Mares Open at Saratoga Casino Hotel for the last few seasons, recorded her second top-level win of the season in Thursday's (Sept. 19) $15,000 distaff feature.
The Melissa Beckwith-trained Woodstock mare scored a victory in the feature at the Spa in May, and entered Thursday following a second-place finish in last week's Open. Mark Beckwith got a pocket trip for Happy Heart behind favourite Eclipse Me N (Steve Genois). Eclipse Me N worked hard early, pacing the first quarter in :27.2 before getting a half in :56.3. Untested through three-quarters in 1:25.1, Eclipse Me N’s strides shortened around the final turn, and that is when Happy Heart made her move. All the while, Come Get The Cash (Jay Randall) closed in after tipping off cover. Happy Heart got the jump on that one and wound up prevailing in 1:54.
Come Get The Cash extended her “on the board” streak as the runner-up, while Bontz N (Billy Dobson) came on to finish third following victories in the previous two installments of the Open.
Happy Heart paid $11.20 to win in the mild upset and led an exacta and triple that returned $76.50 and $269.50, respectively. Happy Heart is owned by Tom McTygue and the Masie Stable.
Live racing resumes on Saturday evening (Sept. 21) at Saratoga with a 14-race card featuring eight finals of the Excelsior A series of the New York Sire Stakes. Each of the eight divisions will go for a purse of $55,000. First post time is set for 6:45 p.m.
(Saratoga Casino Hotel)