A pair of pacing Opens valued at $34,247 each were the highlight of the afternoon at Plainridge Park on Monday, Sept. 22 and strong performances were put in by each winner.

First in the Open Handicap for fillies and mares, Always Bstunning N and driver Kevin Switzer Jr. took a deliberate overland route as Turn The Page (Ron Cushing) and Millwood Bliss N (Brett Beckwith) took turns on the point. As they passed the quarter in :26.2, the early shuffle had settled and Always Bstunning N then passed them both to control the pace from there.

After reaching the half in :54.3, Always Bstunning N was greeted by Intothemysticmoon (Nick Graffam), who made a strong outside rush up the backstretch and drew near the leader at the 1:22 three-quarters mark. The field began to bunch around the final turn but in the stretch, Always Bstunning N turned back all challengers to win by 1-3/4 lengths in 1:50.1. Intothemysticmoon was second, with Uptown Hanover (Shawn Gray) finishing third.

The win was the eighth win of the year in 15 starts for Always Bstunning N, who is owned by Richard Poillucci while the six-year-old daughter of Always B Miki-Simply Stunning is trained by Gretchen Athearn. She paid $2.80 to win as the bettors' choice.

Later in the Open Handicap for male pacers, Two Fold Cold and driver David Ingraham got away eighth and last as favourite Fourever Boy (Brett Beckwith) made his way to the front passing the :26.3 quarter. Fourever Boy continued to lead to the half where Ahi Sunshine (Bruce Ranger) blitzed on the outside and took a quick lead, that soon became a two-length gap at the 1:21.2 three-quarters.

At that point, Two Fold Cold was still sixth, third-over on the outside in an outer flow led by Tenzing Bromac N (Ron Cushing), who was closing in on the leader. When the pacers entered the stretch, Tenzing Bromac N went by the fading Ahi Sunshine, but Two Fold Cold was third in the middle of the stretch and flying towards the line. Tenzing Bromac N dug in, but Two Fold Cold paced right on by and won by a quarter-length in 1:50.1, that included a :27.3 kicker by the winner. Tenzing Bromac N held for second over Handlelikeaporsche (Shawn Gray).

Two Fold Cold earned his seventh win of the year in 18 starts for owner Marc Tardif. Kelly Case trains the four-year-old gelded son of Deuce Seelster-Snow Cone A. He paid $6.60 to win as the 2-1 second choice.

The $2.4 million USD (est.) Massachusetts Breeders Stakes begins next Monday, Sept. 29 at Plainridge Park and many eligible two- and three-year-old state-bred prospects got their final work in on Monday and six in particular were in winning form.

There were two $27,397 divisions of the Romper Room Series for two-year-old pacers and they were won by the colt Manador (Jimmy Whittemore) in 1:55.2 for trainer Melissa Beckwith and the filly Bettors Gold (Nick Graffam) in 1:56.2 for trainer Mike Graffam.

The three-year-olds took to the track with four more Massachusetts-bred winners joining the fray.

In the $27,397 conditioned pace, the gelding Southpaw, trained and driven by Jimmy Whittemore took a new lifetime mark of 1:51.3.

In the $27,397 conditioned trot, the Paul Kelley-trained filly Corner Store (Brett Beckwith) remained unbeaten at Plainridge with her third win there, clocked in 1:55.1.

In the $20,548 conditioned trot, the trotting filly Peach Cocktail scored her fourth consecutive win with a 1:56.4 mile for the driving and training duo of Matty Athearn and Gretchen Athearn.

In the $17,123 conditioned trot, the Zach Gray-trained gelding Our Father Lindy scored in 1:59 for his second win of the year.

Nick Graffam was the leading reinsman on Monday with three wins to his credit while Gretchen Athearn was the top trainer, sending two winners to post.

There was a huge payout in the Wicked Hi-5 pentafecta wager in the sixth race. The single unique combination of 3-7-9-1-5 returned $8,265.34.

Live harness racing will resume at Plainridge Park on Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 2 p.m., with a $292 carryover in the Wicked Hi-5 wager in race six. 

(With files from Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts)