Wednesday evening’s program featured the final installment of the New York Sire Stakes for the summer at Saratoga Casino Hotel, with three-year-old pacing fillies taking centre stage.
Hen Party continued her sensational summer with a 1:52 score in her $75,900 Sire Stakes division. The Empire Breeders Classic winner was sent off at 1-5 and guided by Andy McCarthy through a :56.1 first half before being met with just a mild challenge to three-quarters in 1:24.3. Hen Party still appeared strong at the top of the stretch as she braced for pocket-sitting So Rude (Joe Bongiorno), who defeated her at Yonkers Raceway in early August. This time, Hen Party would not be denied and matched the all-time track record for three-year-old pacing fillies established by Darlins Delight in 2006. So Rude was the runner-up while Dragon Roll (Dexter Dunn) earned the show spot.
With the victory, Hen Party moved her seasonal earnings to over a quarter million dollars and has now piled up almost $430,000 in her 26 lifetime starts. The daughter of Roll With Joe is owned by Crawford Farms Racing.
Dave Dewhurst trainee Racine Bell delivered as the 2-5 choice in her $74,500 Sire Stakes division, earning her fourth straight win in wire-to-wire fashion. Jason Bartlett drove the daughter of So Surreal to a 1:52.4 score over last year's two-year-old champion, The Fun Marshall (Mitch Cushing), who sat the pocket and was the runner-up, while Cash Roll (Andrew Mccarthy) finished third. Racine Bell now has five wins in eight starts in 2020 and has earned more than $260,000 in her young career.
Live racing goes on a brief hiatus at Saratoga Casino Hotel and is set to resume on Monday afternoon, Sept. 14. Racing is scheduled for Mondays and Tuesdays for the remainder of September with first post time set for 12 noon.
(with files from Saratoga Casino Hotel)