Squee Hanover squeezes in Open victory

Squee Hanover (Crazed) continued his stable’s hot streak on Monday afternoon when the up-and-coming Andy Gardner trainee won the Open Trot at Saratoga Casino Hotel for the second time in the last three weeks.

The five year old won the $15,000 Open for the first time in his career two weeks ago when he went coast-to-coast in a lifetime-best matching 1:55.2. On Monday over a sloppy track at the Spa, Squee Hanover worked hard in the early going and raced parked to the first quarter in 27.2.

With Billy Dobson at the controls, the Gardner trainee didn’t get much of a breather before reaching the half in 56.2. Bridge Works (Jimmy Devaux), who owns four feature wins this summer, moved three-wide late in the mile and came charging towards the leader but the chase proved to be futile.

Squee Hanover stopped the timer in 1:56.1 while scoring by almost two lengths. Bridge Works was the runner-up in the Open for the second consecutive week while Mister Muscle (Brett Beckwith) finished third.

SQUEE HANOVER REPLAY

Squee Hanover, who is owned by the Exceed Stables of Lamar, PA, continued what has been a strong stretch for conditioner Andy Gardner who scored a pair of victories on Sunday’s card and has rolled his summer successes right over into the fall.

The 38 year old conditioner currently sits fourth in the trainer standings this season at the Spa. The Open winner paid $12.00 to win and led an exacta and triple that returned $58.50 and $222.50, respectively.

Live racing continues on Tuesday afternoon with a matinee starting at noon.

For full race results, click here.

by Mike Sardella, for Saratoga Raceway