Saratoga Springs, NY – Devil’s Wish has gotten his season off to a strong start at Saratoga Casino Hotel and on Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 17), the young pacer sprung a mild upset.
Drawing post eight for his try in the $10,750 Tuesday feature, Devil’s Wish flashed early speed to overcome his outside post. Fresh off a victory in which the Dave Dewhurst-owned and trained 4-year-old prevailed from the rail, Devil’s Wish powered out to the lead in a :28.1 first quarter.
Driver Chris Long backed it down a bit with Devil’s Wish who reached the half in 58.1 before feeling mild pressure past three quarters in 1:26.4. The 4-year-old son of Mcwicked held strong in the stretch to prevail in 1:56.1 while dismissed at odds of 8-1.
Longshot Pestcontrol (Leon Bailey) sat the pocket to the winner and wound up as the runner-up while the favored Th Kay C Crunch (Jacob Cutting) came from a long way back to finish third.
Devil’s Wish, who joined the stable of Dave Dewhurst in January, now has two second-place finishes and a pair of victories to his credit in just four local starts.
Live racing resumes on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 21) at Saratoga featuring an early Pick-5 carryover of $3,875 and an early Pick-4 carryover of $1,636. First post time is noon.