First Open of the season for Wishing Barefoot
Wishing Barefoot (Wishing Stone) won the Open Trot for the first time this season when on Thursday evening, the Scott Mongeon harness racing trainee parlayed his pocket ride to an upset victory.
Mongeon teamed up with fellow Saratoga Harness Hall of Famer Brian Cross who sat behind Wishing Barefoot as he rode the coattails of longshot leader Gigfy (Alek Chartrand). Gigfy cruised unopposed through a first half in 57.3 and felt very little pressure until coming to the top of the stretch when Cross tipped Wishing Barefoot out of the two-hole.
The Mongeon trainee roared past the longtime leader to take command mid-stretch and draw away to win by a length and a quarter, stopping the timer in 1:56.3 for his third win of the 2024 campaign.
Gigfy was second at odds of 11-1 while the favored Pay Me To Knight (Doug Maura) was late on the scene to finish third.
WISHING BAREFOOT REPLAY
Wishing Barefoot paid $19.80 to win in the upset and led an exacta and triple that returned $136.50 and $524, respectively. The winner is owned in partnership by Chuck Harrison and Fred Barthelmas both of New York.
Live racing continues on Friday evening with a first post time of 5pm.
For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.
by Mike Sardella, for Saratoga Raceway
- Categories
- USA
- Tags
- Brian Cross, Mike Sardella, Saratoga Raceway, United States Harness Racing
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