Lady Saturn took out her broom and completed a sweep of the ninth annual Virginia O’Brien Memorial Pacing Series on Monday afternoon, May 13 at Saratoga Casino Hotel.
Brett Crawford drives the three-year-old filly, who was a decisive winner in all three preliminary legs of the series, for trainer Michelle Crawford. On Monday, the sophomore was tasked with overcoming post eight in the $39,726 series final.
Lady Saturn flashed some early speed and landed in fifth in the early going. Brett 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's final, cut the mile 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 4-5 betting favourite returned $3.80 to win. 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, who is owned by Dragon Tales Farm Inc. of Burnt Hills, New York, is a homebred daughter of Huntsville out of the Western Ideal mare P Note Blue Chip. After going winless in five starts last year, she has boosted her bankroll to $62,044.
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 harness racing resumes on Saturday evening with a first post time of 5 p.m.
(With files from Saratoga Casino Hotel)