Plainridge Park featured a pair of $12,000 condition races Thursday that both yielded well-backed winners on another very hot afternoon.
In the five-year-old and under group of non-winners, the Massachusetts-bred CBF Bantam (Shawn Gray) came from off the pace to score a new lifetime mark.
Besidetheseaside A (Ron Cushing) took early command and rattled off swift fractions of :26.4, :55.1 and 1:23.2 while being challenged by the favoured Meetmeatthedance (Bruce Ranger) for that third quarter. Around the last turn, CBF Bantam (Shawn Gray) shook loose from fifth and tipped three-deep around the tiring Meetmeatthedance, taking dead aim at Besidetheseaside A. As they headed down the lane, CBF Bantam got the lead and paced strong to the wire and won in 1:52.4, which was a new lifetime mark.
CBF Bantam ($5.80) is owned by Glenn Harris and Marion Phelps and is trained by Barrie Farrar.
Then an upper-level aged group of condition pacers saw Tisadream N (Drew Monti) win his second straight race after leading at every station.
Bettors Fire N (Ron Cushing) got to the front by the eighth pole but yielded the lead to Tisadream N before the quarter in :27. Once on the point, Monti tapped out splits of :56.2 and 1:25 before Quick Shot (Bruce Ranger) got within a length going around the last turn. But that was as close as he would get as Tisadream N swelled up in the stretch and pulled away to a 1-1/2 length victory in 1:53.
Tisadream N is owned by Tony Gruppo and Tim Bojarski and trained by Scott Rollins.
Drivers Nick Graffam and Shawn Gray each scored two wins, both in successive races.
Racing resumes at Plainridge Park on Friday with post time at 4 p.m.
(Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts)