Saratoga Springs, NY — It was a big afternoon for trainer Dave Dewhurst on Monday (May 15) at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The veteran conditioner recorded a training hat trick including a pair of victories in spring series races.

Following a day in which he scored wins in the Open Trot and the Winners Over for trotters, Dewhurst was led by Primo Uomo (Heston Blue Chip) who completed a sweep of the three legs of the Dr. Richard Frank Memorial Pacing Series.

Primo Uomo held firm throughout en route to a 1:54.4 romp. Jessica Hallett photo.

Primo Uomo was used hard to get to the lead in his $17,500 division of the series but after getting to the top in a first quarter of :27.1 he held firm throughout en route to a 1:54.4 romp.

The sophomore pacer’s win was his ninth in 11 seasonal starts as he will head into next week’s series final as the only horse to prevail in all three legs.

Dewhurst co-owns and trains City Of Hope (Met’s Hall) who went back-to-back in the John Mongeon Sr. Memorial Trotting Series behind a career-best 1:58.1 Monday score. After going coast-to-coast from post eight while dismissed at odds of 12-1 last week, City Of Hope again went the distance on the lead on Monday but this time as the public’s 4-5 betting favorite. City Of Hope is co-owned by Dewhurst and Philip Hale.

That pair also saw its Defiant Lady set a new lifetime mark on Monday when she prevailed in 2:00 in a $9,500 conditioned race for trotters.

With the huge few days at the Spa, Dewhurst has surged into the top three in the local trainer standings. All three of Dewhurst’s Monday winners were piloted by the meet’s leading driver Jimmy Devaux.

Live racing continues on Tuesday at Saratoga with action beginning at noon.