Eclipse Me N parlayed her perfect trip to victory in the $15,000 Fillies and Mares Open on Thursday afternoon at Saratoga Casino Hotel.
Trainer Rene Allard, whose YS Tallia won the $12,500 Winners Over for pacing mares earlier on the card, saw his Eclipse Me N surge in the passing lane to record her ninth win of the season.
Steeven Genois piloted Eclipse Me N as they sat the pocket to the race’s favourite Bontz N (Billy Dobson) who set sizzling fractions on the front-end on a chilly fall afternoon in Saratoga. Bontz N was confronted by a rival in the early going in the feature and went to the half in :55.1. Come Get The Cash (Jay Randall), who like Bontz N has become a force among local pacing mares in recent months, came from last and closed quickly around the final turn before taking the lead in the stretch. It looked as if Come Get The Cash was to be the winner before Eclipse Me N gathered momentum in the passing lane and emerged victorious in 1:54.
The seven-year-old Eclipse Me N is enjoying a six-figure campaign for the second consecutive year and added another win to her bulky total in Thursday’s feature. In the five-horse Open, Eclipse Me N paid $8.10 to win.
Eclipse Me N, who now owns four local Open victories in 2019, gave back-to-back winners on the card to Allard and owner Yves Sarrazin, who co-owns the Open’s winner with Donald MacRae and the Allard Racing Stable. Sarrazin is the sole owner of YS Tallia who went coast-to-coast in 1:54.2 in the undercard to the Thursday feature with leading driver Billy Dobson in the sulky.
Live racing resumes on Saturday evening at the Spa with a first post time set for 6:45 p.m.
(Saratoga Casino Hotel)