Leading at every station, Deadline Hall came up with a big win in the $34,247 Open Handicap Trot at Plainridge Park on Monday, June 30.
Deadline Hall (Aaron Byron) took the lead from By The Book (Kevin Switzer Jr.) by the quarter in :26.3 and then took the field to the half in :56.3. As they headed up the backstretch, A New Leader (Mitchell Cushing) made a bid from behind and moved up to third on the rim as they passed three-quarters in 1:24.3. With the pack bunching around the far turn, Deadline Hall continued to trot with authority and turned back late bids by By The Book and Marquis Lafayette (Bruce Ranger) to win by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:53.1.
Deadline Hall ($8.60) is owned by S&K Misfit Racing and VIP Internet Stable. The five-year-old gelded son of Muscle Mass-Daylon Mystique is trained by Amanda Kelley.
In the $28,630 upper-level conditioned trot, Sforza (Bruce Ranger) moved second-over at the half behind Bill Bauer (Brett Beckwith) in pursuit of the front-running Heavens Pic (Nick Graffam), who led the field through three-quarters in 1:25.1. Coming off the last turn, Ranger tipped Sforza off cover and barrelled down the centre of the lane to catch Heavens Pic by a head at the light in 1:54.3.
Sforza ($4.20) is owned by Greathorse. The four-year-old gelded son of Walner-Grand Cavalla is trained by Domenico Cecere.
Cecere also sent two other winners postward, both three-year-olds. Those winners were Not Uncertain (1:56.4, $2.80) and Riviera Princess (1:55.4, $4), who is a Massachusetts-bred filly that is eligible to the lucrative Massachusetts Breeders Stakes later this year.
Another Massachusetts-bred and eligible three-year-old trotting filly winner on Monday was Paul Kelley's Onthemonihoney ($21), who matched her lifetime mark of 1:56.4 with her victory.
Live harness racing will resume at Plainridge Park on Tuesday, July 1 at 4 p.m. and there will be a $6,889 carryover in the Wicked Hi-5 pentafecta in race six.
(With files from Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts)