Naturally Gifted A made his seasonal bow at Plainridge Park on Monday, April 14 and once again visited the winner's enclosure after confidently taking the $30,556 Open II pacing feature.
Kevin Switzer Jr. took the lead with Naturally Gifted A and set even fractions of :27 and :56 before anyone tried to challenge. Grey Horizon (Mitchell Cushing) pulled first over while Lifes A Puzzle (Drew Monti) followed his cover.
The group paced in close proximity heading into the final turn with Naturally Gifted A still commanding the pace and looking strong doing it. At the top of the stretch, the pursuers' challenges began to fall apart, and Naturally Gifted A (pictured above) finished strong to win by two lengths in 1:52.1. Grey Horizon was a game second while Lifes A Puzzle rounded out the top three.
The six-year-old Sweet Lou-Perfectlyimperfect gelding Naturally Gifted A ($11.60) is trained by Gretchen Athearn and owned by Richard Poillucci of South Easton, Massachusetts and David Kryway of Amherstburg, Ont.
There were also a pair of co-featured $26,389 upper-level paces carded on Monday.
In the first division, Flirtin JK (Mitchell Cushing) made a first-over move at the half and incrementally tracked down the front-running Huntanover (Brett Beckwith) to the head of the stretch. From there, he took the lead and paced away by 1-1/2 lengths on top in 1:53.3. It was the second straight win for Flirtin JK ($25), who is owned by his driver/trainer Cushing in partnership with Ray Lasky of Mechanicville, New York.
In the second split, Virtual Horizon (Drew Monti) got away third as Sonny Weaver N (Brett Beckwith) cut the half in :55.2. On the backstretch, Virtual Horizon pulled first and marched towards the leader, clearing at three-quarters in 1:23.3 and increased his lead every step from there, winning by 2-1/4 lengths in 1:52.3. Virtual Horizon ($16.20) is trained by Jackie Greene and owned by Kellogg Racing Stables of Queensbury, New York.
Driver Brett Beckwith scored a hat trick while drivers Greg Merton, Kevin Switzer Jr. and Mitchell Cushing, and trainer Jeff Cullipher each doubled.
Racing resumes at Plainridge Park on Tuesday, April 15 with a first post time of 4 p.m.
(With files from Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts)