Saratoga Springs, NY – Huntressville A (Huntsville) made her return a winning one on Monday (Sept. 9) afternoon at Saratoga Casino Hotel.
The Rob Harmon trainee has split her time between Tioga Down and Saratoga this season but following a victory in early June took a three month break. The five year old mare had two winning qualifiers as preps for her return which came on Monday in the $15,000 Fillies and Mares Open.
Phil Fluet got the driving assignment and sat behind Huntressville A who drew post position one for her return effort. Dismissed at odds of 10-1, Huntressville A got away mid-pack in a feature that saw demanding fractions set as the distaffers went through a first quarter of 27.1 before heading past the half in 55.3. Huntressville A was first-over but began to thrive as the leader began to tire past three quarters in 1:25.1.
As the Harmon trainee was clearing the lead at the top of the stretch, a host of challengers began to swarm in for what would become a finish that saw seven mares separated by a total of three lengths at the wire. When the dust settled, it was Huntressville A who emerged victorious to record her first ever Open victory in a mile clocked in 1:55.3.
Alittlesidehustl N (Billy Dobson) continued her incredible stretch of finishing first or second every week since the beginning of summer when she closed from post eight to be the runner-up to Huntressville A while the favorite Racin Hungry (Wally Hennessey) earned the show spot. Huntressville A paid $23.80 to win to upset in the feature.
Live racing resumes on Saturday (Sept. 14) evening with a first post time of 5 p.m.