You might say Major Leaguer 'rounded the bases' as he led at every station of the mile en route to scoring an upset victory in the $15,000 Winners-Over pace at Plainridge Park on Monday afternoon.
Shawn Gray rousted Major Leaguer off the gate and flew to the front, posting fractions of :26.1, :55.1 and 1:22.3 at the three-quarters. Bet You (Kevin Switzer Jr.) was outside that third panel and pushed the :27.2 split and continued to prompt the front runner to the top of the stretch. There, Major Leaguer was on his own and in full flight while turning away a late bid from the pocket-sitting Rock Diamonds N (Ron Cushing) to win by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:50.1, tying his lifetime mark.
It was the fourth win in the last six starts for Major Leaguer ($34.00) who is owned by Jimmy Whittemore and trained by Marissa Chadbourne.
Later in the $12,000 upper level condition pace, JK Will Power (Mitchell Cushing) left from post six and was parked out the entire mile in swift fractions, yet he swelled up around the last turn and pushed on down the lane to win by a length in 1:50.4 in a very impressive effort. It was the fifth win of the year for JK Will Power ($3.40) and owner Michael Goldberg Racing. Jeff Lieberman trains the winner.
Drew Monti led all drivers on Monday with three wins followed by Bruce Ranger who had two. On the training side, Domenico Cecere and Melissa Beckwith both sent two from their barn for pictures.
Racing resumes at Plainridge Park on Thursday (Aug. 27) with post time at 4 p.m.
(Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts)