Hespoisedtopounce A used a perfect trip to strike late and win the $35,211 Baystate Special Pace for horses and geldings at Plainridge Park on Friday afternoon, Oct. 31.

Hespoisedtopounce A and driver Matty Athearn left sharply and took an early lead before getting to the quarter in :27.2. At that station, Whats For Suppaah (Jay Randall) was already out and rolling from the pocket to take over and skated to the half in :56 flat. As they headed on to the backstretch, ER Griffin (Nick Graffam), who had been parked since the start, was still outside third and had Varney (Mitchell Cushing) on his back loaded with pace.

When the field reached three-quarters in 1:24, Whats For Suppaah was still comfortably in front while Varney tipped three-deep around ER Griffin, with Hespoisedtopounce A still in the pocket waiting to make his move. That wait ended near the top of the stretch when ER Griffin faded, leaving space for Athearn to tip Hespoisedtopounce to the outside for the drive home. As they made their way down the lane, Hespoisedtopounce A passed Whats For Suppaah in deep stretch while holding off Varney to win by one-half length in 1:53.4.

The win was the sixth of the year in 25 starts for Hespoisedtopounce A, who paid $7.60 as the second wagering choice. The nine-year-old Bettors Deight-Perfectly Poised gelding is trained Jimmy Nickerson and owned by Tim Bojarski of Akron, New York and Tony Gruppo of Bradenton, Florida.

Hespoisedtopounce A was only one of four wins Athearn had on Friday. Driver Kevin Switzer Jr. also had a big day in the bike scoring a hat trick, while trainers Jimmy Nickerson and Kevin Switzer each won two races during the proceedings.

Live harness racing will resume at Plainridge Park on Monday, Nov. 3 at a new earlier post time of 1 p.m., which will be the norm for the remainder of the meet.

(With files from Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts)