Ella V Horse scored a wire-to-wire win in the Friday (April 1) feature at Saratoga Casino and Raceway.

Stephane Bouchard pointed the nine-year-old Royal Mattjesty mare out to the front end in the $13,000 Winners Over Pace for fillies and mares, and despite fast fractions of :26.1 and :55.4 in the first half, she had plenty left for the stretch drive. Ella V Horse turned back the late challenge from Bettorhaveanother (Frank Coppola Jr.) before stopping the timer in 1:59.3 for the 1-1/16 miles. Campanile (Austin Siegelman) was parked out for the duration of the race and still toughed it out to finish third.

The victory was the second of the season for Ella V Horse, who was the race’s co-favourite in the wagering at odds of 2-1. She is owned by Michael Pozefsky, William Pozefsky and Myron Ekstein.

The win was the second on the evening for trainer Andy Sardella, whose Im A Nice Girl (sired by The Panderosa) set a lifetime mark of 1:55.2 on Friday night.

Bouchard was the evening’s sulky star as the veteran reinsman piloted six winners on the 12-race card.

(Standardbred Canada with files from Saratoga Raceway)