On Sunday, April 28, at Saratoga Casino Hotel, the featured $15,000 Winners Over/Open Handicap Trot was highlighted by a surge down the stretch and a blanket finish, with Snowpiercer (Muscle Mass) emerging triumphant among his harness racing rivals.
Summit City Favourite Snowpiercer (Brett Beckwith) pulled away in fifth place, but Sonny (Leon Bailey) claimed the lead early and maintained pace throughout the mile. Following a panel in :28, Beckwith threw the Jackie Greene student first over to the outside, scoring two runs at 1:27.3 and four at :58 in the half.
At the head of the stretch, Snowpiercer landed on top, but a wall of challengers surrounded him, so he wasn't alone. All that remained to determine the Sunday feature winner was a sprint to the wire, which Snowpiercer won by a head in 1:57.1, defeating all six competitors with their hats in the ring. After Snowpiercer, Malibu Kid (Larry Stalbaum) finished second by a slim margin, and Comeonover Hanover (Billy Dobson) finished the show in a photo finish.
The four-year-old belongs to Janie Kellogg, who got his 10th victory from 39 career starts and his fifth victory in eight starts this year. His earnings of $298,580 have been invested. The 2-1 bettors' choice was returned by him with $5.60.
As part of the second leg of the series, three $10,000 divisions of the John Mongeon Sr. Memorial were fought on Sunday.
In 1:59, Packmia ($7.60) won the first split, defeating Sunnys Rebel (Matty Athearn) and Barnello (Brian Cross) by a small margin. Chris Long rode the bike for trainer Timothy Dickie and owners Glenn, Cheryl, and Kellie Dickie.
Pembroke Traveler ($2.10) overcame an early mistake to sprint from last to win by three and a half lengths behind Biden. His Time (John Stark Jr.) and Niccolo (Mitch Cushing). Autym Robinson was riding a bike with trainer Mcgwire Sowers.
In the series finale, Queen Indeed ($2.30) prevailed by two lengths over driver Billy Dobson and trainer/owner Gary Levine in 1:58.4.
Racing at The Spa continues Monday (April 29) with 14 races slated for the matinee card beginning at 12 p.m.