Driver Matty "Ice" Athearn, trainer Gretchen Athearn and owner William Phipps teamed up to take the top two trots of the week at Plainridge Park on Friday afternoon (Oct. 15).
First they captured the $20,000 upper-level conditioned undercard with Kyrie Deo ($15.60) who followed cover third over up the backstretch in pursuit of the front-running Midnite Craze (Drew Campbell). "Matty Ice" tipped Kyrie Deo — who was lightly regarded at the windows — four deep in the last turn, put the swoop to the group and won by a length in a new lifetime mark of 1:55.1.
It was the sixth victory of the year by Kyrie Deo for owner Phipps.
Three races later in the $25,000 Winners-Over feature, they made it a double with...Make It A Double, who took the lead at the quarter, stepped sharply to three-quarters in 1:25.4 and then held off a late-charging Raybarnz (Ivan Davies) to win by a head in 1:55.1, which was his best winning time of the year.
Make It A Double ($11.80), who is owned jointly by Phipps and Gretchen Athearn, scored his fifth win of the year.
Joining the "two-win club" on Friday were drivers Shawn Gray, Drew Monti and Jay Randall.
When live harness racing resumes at Plainridge Park on Sunday (Oct. 17), the Massachusetts Sire Stakes will reconvene with both sexes and gaits of two-year-olds hitting the track for their third leg of the $2.24 million stake series. The $800,000 (est.) finals will be held at Plainridge Park on Monday (Oct. 25). Post time for the first race on both days is 2 p.m.
(Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts)