Black Broadway stepped out of the Open trot this week and the class relief was just the ticket as the classy mare returned to her winning ways, beating all male rivals in the $14,000 conditioned trotting feature at Plainridge Park on Thursday afternoon.
In a three-horse duel, Black Broadway (Mark Beckwith) out sprinted Trotalot (Chris Long) and Just Make Believe (Joe Di Stefano) and headed those two by the quarter in :27.3. When Just Make Believe finally tucked in second at the three-eighths pole, Trotalot immediately pulled from third and rushed for the lead past the half in :56.3. There was no rest for the weary as Namesmuscle (Mark Athearn) pulled at that point and put additional pressure on Trotalot who already used twice, responded well and met the challenge.
Those two matched strides up the backside and around the last turn but Trotalot never yielded the lead. At the top of the stretch Money Mayweather (Wally Watson) tipped three-deep around Namesmuscle and now three horses were within a length of each other heading down the lane. Trotalot was keeping those two horses at bay but Black Broadway, who had gotten the trip behind all the action, snuck up the pylons and out-brushed everyone to wire to win by one-half length in 1:55.
It was the sixth win in 12 starts in 2017 for Black Broadway ($3.40) whose earnings now total $55,230 for the year. The four-year-old daughter of Broadway Hall is owned by Mike Eaton and Bob McHugh and is trained by Mike Eaton.
In the co-featured $12,000 conditioned trot, Candy Lane (Mark Athearn) also beat an all-male field, including 1-9 favourite Tag Up And Go (Mark Beckwith), with a personal best effort going gate to wire in unfettered fashion to win by three-lengths in 1:55.3. The time was a new lifetime mark for the four-year-old daughter of Cantab Hall. It was the fourth win of the year for Candy Lane ($15.20) and her owner Linwood Higgins. Gretchen Athearn trains the mare.
Drivers Greg Merton and David Ingraham both had two wins on the card.
Racing resumes at Plainridge Park on Friday with post time for the first race set at 4 p.m.
(Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts)