KS Dream upsets with fourth straight win

A strong, well-balanced group of young harness racing trotters squared off against each other in a $9,500 conditional race on Tuesday afternoon at Saratoga Casino Hotel.

The group of eight featured one horse riding a five-race win streak and another coming in while a winner of three straight. Neither of those two were the favorite and in fact, there was a 4-5 betting favorite in the race with a horse dropping out of Sire Stakes competition.

KS Dream (Conway Hall) has been red hot since joining the stable of trainer Andy Gardner. The four year old was lightly raced in his first couple of seasons but here in 2021 has come into his own.

On Tuesday, KS Dream drew post seven in the strong group of trotters but leading driver Jimmy Devaux wasted little time in blasting the razor sharp trotter out early. KS Dream made it to the lead but it took a blistering quarter of 27.1 to get to the top.

Dismissed at odds of 12-1, KS Dream got a breather in the second quarter, getting to the half in 57.2. Though Tesla Seelster, who was riding the five-race win streak, made a break after the start, it was the favored Credit Con (Wally Hennessey) who tried to put a threat together in the final half.

The effort proved futile and it was longshot Royal Soldier (Dan Cappello Jr) who emerged as the stretch threat for KS Dream before having his threat thwarted by the Gardner trainee who held strong to win for the fourth time in as many tries.

The victory in 1:56.2 served as a new lifetime mark for KS Dream. Royal Soldier finished second at odds of 45-1 while the longest shot on the board Kasha’s Boy (Chris Long) came on to be third.

KS DREAM REPLAY

KS Dream, who paid $26.80 to win, is now four-for-four in his brief time at Saratoga. The exacta and triple in the featured trotting race paid $642 and $4,638, respectively. KS Dream is owned by Karen Smith- Ashley of Brushton, NY.

Live racing resumes on Saturday evening at Saratoga with a first post time set for 6:45pm.

For full race results, click here.

by Mike Sardella, for Saratoga Raceway