Recently landed Australian import Solesseo Matuca A scored his first North American win while registering the fastest mile of the young meet in the $26,389 featured pace at Plainridge Park on Monday afternoon, April 28.
Matty Athearn got away third with Solesseo Matuca A while Little Willy (Brett Beckwith) took the field to the half in :55.3. At that point, Athearn tipped Solesseo Matuca A and rushed up the back straight to the front and opened up a 1-1/2-length lead in the :27.1 third quarter. After rounding the last turn, Solesseo Matuca A dug in as he headed for home while holding off the fast-closing Price Control (Mitchell Cushing) to win in a lifetime best 1:50.4
A seven-year-old gelded son of A Rocknroll Dance out of the D M Dilinger mare Princess Dilinger, Solesseo Matuca A ($9.20) is trained by Jimmy Nickerson and owned by Tim Bojarski and Tony Gruppo.
There were also two mid-level $22,222 conditioned events on Monday.
In the first division, Always A Miki put in a strong effort to get his first win of 2025.
Im No Outlaw (Drew Monti), Justa Little Bit A (Shawn Gray) and Always A Miki (Matty Athearn) changed leads several times before Always A Miki took command in front of the stands after a :27 first quarter. From there, he marched sharply on the lead past the half in :55.4 and three-quarters in 1:24 before turning for home and holding off Mansome (Brett Beckwith) by a length in 1:52.1.
Always A Miki ($3.40) is also trained by Nickerson and owned by Joe Trice.
Then later, Fouerver Boy brushed in the stretch to pull away for the win.
Fourever Boy (Brett Beckwith) got away fifth as Hespoisedtopounce A (Matty Athearn) led the field through quarters of :26.4, :55 and 1:23.1 while Alta Classic A (Mitchell Cushing) was applying the pressure and Fourever Boy travelled in the breeze, second-over. At the top of the lane, Beckwith tipped Fourever Boy three-deep and paced home to an easy 2-1/2-length victory in 1:51.4.
The million-dollar winning Fourever Boy ($4) is trained by Melissa Beckwith and owned by Micki Rae Stables.
Athearn, Beckwith and Cushing all had driving doubles during the card while trainers Nickerson and Mark Eaton joined them in the two-win club.
There was a huge payoff in the day's fourth race after Colt Bennett (Mitchell Cushing) won and paid $39.40 followed by Pembroke Revenge (Walter Case Jr.), who returned $47 to place and the $2 exacta rewarded the longshot speculators with a $6,255.60 USD jackpot.
Racing resumes at Plainridge Park on Tuesday, April 29 at 4 p.m.
(With files from Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts)