Golden Kronos turned a perfect trip into a narrow victory in the $22,500 Winners-Over trotting feature at Plainridge Park on Friday afternoon (Nov. 19).
Last week's winner Joey Bats (Kevin Switzer Jr.) bolted to the front off the gate while Golden Kronos (Drew Monti) and Northern Skyway (Shawn Gray) stayed closest as the leader took the six-horse field to the half in :58.3. As the six-pack motored up the backside, Northern Skyway pulled first-over and drew alongside Joey Bats in the last turn. But right behind them on the move were Golden Kronos and Vesuvio Bi (Bruce Ranger). As the race headed towards the wire, three horses were across the track and within a head of each other halfway down the lane. When they hit the light, Golden Kronos was up a quarter length in front of stablemates Vesuvio Bi and Joey Bats in 1:57.2.
Golden Kronos ($5.00) captured his ninth win of the year for owners Michael Pozefsky, William Pozefsky and Myron Ekstein. The winner of $87,173 this year is trained by Stanley Zombick Jr.
Golden Kronos was the second driving win for Monti during the card.
In the $17,500 conditioned trotting undercard, Esa (Jay Randall) made it two in a row after advancing from the back of the pack around the last turn, tipping four deep at the head of the stretch and pulling away to a 2-1/2 length victory in 1:58.1.
Having a career year, Esa ($8.20) now has six wins and $63,978 earned for owners Bill Reepmeyer and Jackie Greene, who also does the training.
Driver Shawn Gray led all drivers on Friday after winning three races on the card.
Live harness racing resumes at Plainridge Park on Sunday (Nov. 21) with post time at 1 p.m.
(Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts)