Twenty top resident pacers of Plainridge Park were divided into three tiers of Winners-Over events that ranged in purse from $15,000 to $20,000 on Monday afternoon and the high-calibre card provided non-stop excitement for the large holiday crowd that was on hand to watch and wager.
In the featured $20,000 race, Stihl N got back to his winning ways in a come-from-behind upset victory.
Major Leaguer (Nick Graffam) took control of the race and led a single-file field to the half in a tepid :56.4. At the five-eighths pole, Sports Obsession (Drew Monti) pulled first over and Stihl N (Matty Athearn) quickly lined up behind him as the pace quickened substantially in the :27.1 third quarter. At that station Athearn tipped Stihl N three-deep and drew alongside Sports Obsession and Major Leaguer, and eventually pulled in front at the top of the stretch. Stihl N maintained his lead down the lane and held off a late charge by Franco Tristan N (Shawn Gray) to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:52.1.
It was the fourth win of the year for Stihl N ($29.60) who became the fastest Massachusetts-bred pacer ever after winning in 1:50 at The Ridge on June 3. The five-year-old gelded son of Mcardle-Mystical Dreamer is owned by James Hemenway and is trained by Paul Mc Hugh.
The $17,500 split saw Mansome win in a similar style, with a rousing late-stretch brush.
Bettors Fire N (Ron Cushing) took the lead at the quarter in :26.3 before Odds On Lauderdale (Bruce Ranger) came right back out to take control from there. Just before the half, Bet You (Kevin Switzer, Jr.) swung out into action and Mansome (Drew Monti) took the cover from there. Positions remained unchanged to three-quarters where Odds On Lauderdale had extended his lead to two lengths as the outer-flow was starting to fail.
When they hit the head of the lane Mansome was fifth and 3-3/4 lengths behind the leader, but Monti started rocking in the bike and Mansome began to respond and pace. He passed Bet You, drew even with Bettors Fire N and Odds On Lauderdale in deep stretch and then nosed both out at the line in 1:51.4.
Mansome ($5.40) pushed his 2021 earnings to $37,120 on the strength of his third win of the season for owners Bruce Weinstein and Elisha Lafreniere, who also trains the winner.
Finally the $15,000 set saw the fastest mile of the day as Rock Diamonds N displayed the form he had shown at Plainridge over the past two years.
Ocean Colony (Drew Campbell) cut the early fractions while post time favourite JK Will Power (Bruce Ranger) sat in second. When the race passed in front of the stands, Rollinlikethunder (Drew Monti) pulled from fourth and Rock Diamonds N (Ron Cushing) shadowed his action. The breezing horses moved forward incrementally on a still strong Ocean Colony but at the 1:22.1 three-quarters, the top four horses were now a tight pack; two in and two out. At the seven-eighths Rock Diamonds N made his three-wide move and got underway with a full head of steam. With strong urging from Cushing, Rock Diamonds N swelled up and paced away to a 1-1/4 length win in a personal season’s best of 1:50.3.
Rock Diamonds N ($11.60) captured his 35th lifetime win and increased his career bank to $431,122 in the process. The classy New Zealand-bred is owned by Kevin Sywyk and his driver, Ron Cushing. Heidi Gibbs does the training.
The winning drivers of the three top events had success on Monday that surpassed those races alone. Ron Cushing and Drew Monti each had a total of three wins during the session while Matty Athearn doubled up his win count. On the training side, Artie Brewer scored the conditioning hat trick while Heidi Gibbs and Jimmy Nickerson both sent two from their respective stables for pictures.
The Wicked Hi-5 Pentafecta carryover continues to grow as once again, no unique winning combination ticket was purchased on Monday. As a result there will be a $22,774 carryover available for that wager in the sixth race when live racing resumes at Plainridge Park on Thursday (July 8). Post time for the first race is 4 p.m.
(Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts)