War Hero was the last one to the quarter pole in Tuesday’s $18,000 Open Handicap Trot at Saratoga Raceway, but he was the first one to the finish thanks to an impressive come-from-behind tally.
Wally Hennessey got away sixth with the Jessica Okusko trainee, who watched Can I Say and E R Ellie battle on the lead through fractions of :27, :56.4 and 1:25.3. War Hero tracked cover from third-over in the middle stages of the contest before being cut loose in the lane. He fired home in :28.4 to win by a neck over Teach Me To Bucky in 1:55. Race favourite E R Ellie weakened late and settled for third.
Sent off at odds of 4-1, the seven-year-old son of Ken Warkentin-Miss Gibbons improved his 2015 record to 6-4-3 from 17 starts with the win. The 22-time winner pushed his lifetime earnings to $124,380 for owner/breeder Howard Gill of Pensacola, FL.