Even as the remnants of tropical storm Henri engulfed New England on Monday, the hearty horsemen and women of Plainridge Park were hard at work with racing as usual despite the very inclement weather conditions. And a standout performance by Surreal Syrah in the $17,500 featured distaff pace was the highlight of the day.
Dojea Gigi (Bruce Ranger) and Surreal Syrah (Matty Athearn) both left and settled in first and second as the rest of the field hit the pegs. The top two positions remained unchanged through fractions of :27 and :55.4 before a weak outer flow approached going up the backside. After passing three-quarters in 1:23, the challenge disbanded and Dojea Gigi pulled away to a two length lead over Surreal Syrah, who seemed to be losing touch as well. But when they straightened out in the lane, Dojea Gigi drifted off the pylons giving Surreal Syrah a straight line to the wire. With Athearn bouncing emphatically in the bike, Surreal Syrah paced home the fastest in :28.2 and won by 1/4 length in 1:51.3, giving her a new lifetime mark by a whopping 2-3/5th’s seconds over the rain-soaked track.
Surreal Syrah ($8.20), who was winless in 2020, now has two wins and two seconds in her last four starts and $36,025 in earnings overall this year for owner/trainer Dan Tuccillo, Jr.
In the $15,000 condition for male pacers, Marcus Seelster ($5.40) scored his third straight win after going gate to wire while holding off strong challenges from Star Island (Drew Campbell), Hoosier Shark (Kevin Switzer, Jr.) and Walk It Talk it (Bruce Ranger) to win by one length in 1:53.3. Marcus Seelster is owned by the Jesmeral Stable and is trained by Sheena McElhiney.
Bruce Ranger extended his lead as the top dash driver at Plainridge after he won four races at The Ridge on Monday. He scored with Skyline Hanover (1:57.1, $2.20), Hula’s Boy (1:57.1, $11.40), Go All Night Joe (1:55.4, $29.80) and Steal My Thunder (1:55.3, $7.60) to round out the Grand Slam.
Other horsemen and women that had performances of note included Drew Monti with the driving hat trick and trainers Nancy Longobardi, Dan Tuccillo and Mark Eaton who all had two wins apiece.
Racing resumes at Plainridge Park on Thursday (Aug. 26) with post time at 4 p.m.
(Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts)