The Friday afternoon (Sept. 4) card at Plainridge Park featured a pair of $15,000 races for two-year-olds of both gaits competing in preparatory events for the Massachusetts Sires Stakes (MASS).
The Nauset Light for pacing freshmen was won by So Amazing (So Surreal-Teddy Ballgirl) in a career-best effort.
Tim Mcmiki led the field to the half in :55 and continued on the point to the five-eighths, where the heavily-favoured Rightfully Mine came first over with So Amazing on her tail. Rightfully Mine quickly grabbed the lead and So Amazing soon drew alongside at the three-quarters. From there the pair traded strides and leads around the far turn and into the stretch, pacing almost dead even all the way down the lane until So Amazing got a head advantage at the beam in 1:53.4.
So Amazing is owned by Nancy Longobardi and Domenic Longobardi, who also bred the winner trained by George Ducharme and driven by Bruce Ranger. It was the third win in the last four starts for So Amazing ($11.80), who sits fourth on the leaderboard in the New York Sires Stake (NYSS) Excelsior Series for two-year-old pacing fillies and will be heading to the $50,000 final on Friday (Sept. 11) at Tioga Downs.
Rightfully Mine (American Ideal-Leah) sits third on the NYSS leaderboard and will make her next start in the $225,000 two-year-old pacing filly division during the Night Of Champions at Yonkers Raceway on Saturday (Sept. 12).
Both fillies are MASS eligible and will be pointed towards that stake which starts later this month.
The Wood End Light was for trotting two-year-olds and Moni For Lindy (Credit Winner-Live Moni) put in a dominating performance.
Drew Monti sent Moni For Lindy to the front and led the whole race by no less than a gapped length. After skirting through quarters of :29.1, :58.3 and 1:28.3, Moni For Lindy opened a two-length advantage at the top of the stretch and extended to a three-and-three-quarter length lead, 1:57.4 win under no urging. The time missed the track record for two-year-old trotting fillies by a fifth of a second.
It was the second-straight win for Moni For Lindy ($2.40), who is owned and bred by the Moni Maker Stable and trained by Domenico Cecere. Moni For Lindy sits ninth on the leaderboard for the NYSS Two-Year-Old Filly Trot and could draw into the $225,000 final. She too is MASS eligible.
Horsemen scoring two wins on Friday were drivers Bruce Ranger, Mike Stevenson and Shawn Gray and trainer Joe Flynn.
The dash driving race continues to stay close with only seven wins separating the top four drivers. Drew Monti leads with 39 wins ahead of Shawn Gray with 36, Mitchell Cushing with 33 and Bruce Ranger with 32.
Racing resumes at Plainridge Park on Labour Day Monday (Sept. 7) at 2 p.m. (EDT).
(Plainridge Park)