Clean sweep in O’Brien Final; Hennessey wins seven

Lady Saturn (Huntsville) took out her harness racing broom and completed a sweep of the 9th annual Virginia O’Brien Memorial Pacing Series on Monday afternoon (May 13) at Saratoga Casino Hotel.

Brett Crawford pilots the three-year-old filly for trainer Michelle Crawford who was a decisive winner in all three legs of the series.

On Monday, the sophomore was tasked with overcoming post eight in the $29,000 Series Final. Lady Saturn flashed some early speed and landed in fifth in the early going in the Final.

Crawford got a cover trip with the up-and-coming filly before tipping her three-wide approaching the three-quarter pole. I Loved Her First (Wally Hennessey), a runner-up in all three legs of the series heading into Monday, cut the mile in the Final but succumbed to the pressure of Lady Saturn in the stretch before fading to third.

Longshot The Queen Hornet (Chris Long) was dismissed at odds of 90-1 while making her first start for new connections and came from last before closing to finish second. Lady Saturn stopped the timer in 1:55.2 to move her record in 2024 to five-for-five. The Queen Hornet was the runner-up to complete a $165 exacta while I Loved Her First rounded out a triple that returned $373.

LADY SATURN REPLAY

The 4-5 betting favorite in the Final, Lady Saturn, who is owned by Dragon Tales Farm Inc of Burnt Hills, NY, is a daughter out of the Western Ideal mare P Note Blue Chip, who was bred by her current owner.

While Lady Saturn’s victory was the headliner of the day at the Spa, it was Hall of Famer Wally Hennessey who was the sulky star piling up seven wins on the matinee card.

Live racing resumes on Saturday evening with a first post time of 5:00 pm.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting Results

by Mike Saradella, for Saratoga Raceway