Sunny skies and a summer-like 78-degrees greeted a full apron of railbirds who turned out for the first day of the live harness racing meet at Plainridge Park on Monday afternoon, April 15.
The feature race was the $27,397 Winners-Over Pace in which track record holder Moonshine Kisses looked very much the part as he mowed down his competition with an impressive closing kick.
Moonshine Kisses (Drew Campbell) battled Tack Room Chatter (Brett Beckwith) to a :26 flat quarter before Tack Room Chatter finally cleared the front. Now on the point and heading to the half, Tack Room Chatter kept the pedal down as he got to that split in :54.1. Ever Hoping A (Ron Cushing) made his way up the rim and moved into third on the backside, but had to endure a :27.4 quarter and parked.
As they headed into the last bend, the top two horses separated and that quickly changed as well. Campbell tipped Moonshine Kisses halfway through the round and took the lead at the top of the stretch by three lengths. As they straightened for home, Moonshine Kisses swelled up and kicked away to the line, up by six to win in 1:49.3.
An eight-year-old son of Sunshine Beach, Moonshine Kisses ($3.60) earned his 54th career victory, pushing his career earnings to $711,896 for owner Kellogg Racing. Jackie Greene trains the winner.
In the secondary featured $23,288 conditioned pace, Skyway Victor (Kevin Switzer) and Hespoisedtopounce A (Matty Athearn) both left and settled first and second, respectively, as the field rounded the first turn to a :27.3 quarter. Rolling With Sam (Greg Merton) pulled first-over and moved into second on the outside, forcing a :28 flat third panel. Skyway Victor was stout and held off that challenge around the last turn as the top three stayed positioned well for the stretch drive. At the top of the lane, Hespoisedtopounce A found room at the pegs and shook loose with a strong burst. He paced furiously to the line but Skyway Victor was up to the task and closed out the deal by a quarter length, winning in 1:52.2 and taking a new seasonal mark.
Skyway Victor ($4), a six-year-old Tellitlikeitis gelding, is trained and owned by Mark Eaton, in partnership with Robert Griffin.
The red-hot Brett Beckwith had a driving grand slam on Monday's card and is now only two wins away from victory 1,000 in his very young career. Beckwith has eight chances to get that done at The Ridge on Tuesday, April 16 when live racing resumes.
(With files from Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts)