In what has been another incredible season in the sulky for him at Saratoga Casino Hotel, driver Billy Dobson had a monster Monday afternoon at the Spa.
Well on his way to driving title number nine, Dobson piloted seven winners on the matinee card.
The Monica Krist stable had a double as Dobson sat behind a pair of Krist trainees, who are owned by his father Rick. The Open Trot went the way of Gruden (Muscles Yankee).
The seven-year-old high-stepper sat out all of 2019 and is currently in the midst of a strong comeback. After a win last week, it was up into the $8,500 Open Trot for Gruden who got a pocket ride behind the favoured Waiting On A Woman (Brett Crawford). That Kyle Spagnola-trained veteran finished first or second in three consecutive instalments of the local Open, a race that hasn’t been carded in close to two months at the Spa.
While Waiting On A Woman cruised through comfortable fractions on Monday, Gruden rode the coattails of the favourite before taking his shot in the passing lane in the stretch. Gruden got up in the final strides to win it by a half length in 1:57.1. Waiting On A Woman finished second while JNR Express (John Stark, Jr.) overcame an early break to finish third in the feature. Gruden paid $18.60 to win.
The victory was surprisingly the first for Dobson in the Open Trot this year. The top reinsman has dominated action once again this season but now has just four Open wins to his credit out of the 37 contested on the campaign. Dobson rattled off win after win on a day with a fall feel at the Spa ending up the card with a season-high seven victories.
Live racing continues on Tuesday afternoon with first post time set for 12 p.m.
(Saratoga Casino Hotel)