After having raced exclusively at Saratoga and Yonkers Raceway all year, St Lads Moonwalk made his first start on a big track and put forth his best performance of 2017 in winning Monday afternoon’s $17,000 Open Handicap pacing feature at Plainridge Park.

As the horses left five-wide around the first turn, St Lads Moonwalk (Greg Merton) was centered in that bunch and eventually gained the lead past the quarter in :26.2. As soon as Merton settled his charge, Deetzy (Kevin Switzer, Jr.) bolted hard to overtake the point at the half and tripped that station in :54. Horses sitting one-two remained unchanged in the third panel but a mounting challenge from the field saw the group line up in two rows as they approached the final turn.

Hickory Icon (Shawn Gray) and Quick Shot (Chris Long) drew alongside Deetzy and St Lads Moonwalk at the head of the lane and at that point it looked to be anyone’s game. Hickory Icon cleared and opened up a length lead and it appeared he’d seal the deal. But Quick Shot was raging with pace on the outside and St Lads Moonwalk ducked inside and was motoring up the pylons. The three paced in unison to the wire for a finish only the camera could determine and the picture revealed that St Lads Moonwalk gained a nose advantage over Quick Shot to win in 1:51.1.

It was the fourth victory of the year for St Lads Moonwalk ($7.00) that registered a new seasonal mark for the horse and increased his earnings to $45,499 for owner Kellogg Racing Stables LLC. Jackie Greene trains the winner.

In the $14,000 pacing undercard, Biggie (Greg Merton) pulled first-over from fourth at the half and took a two-length lead by the three-quarter pole before pacing away to an easy length victory in 1:51.4, equaling his lifetime mark.

It was the fifth win of the year for Biggie ($9.40) and his owner Michael Huff. The four-year-old son of Somebeachsomewhere is trained by Scott Rollins.

Greg Merton registered a driving triple while Kevin Switzer, Jr. and Nick Graffam each doubled up.

Racing resumes at Plainridge Park on Tuesday afternoon with first race post time set at 4 p.m.

(Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts)