With his stablemate Patrikthepiranha A not entered this week, Jimmy Connor B was the one to beat in the $30,000 Open Handicap Pace at Plainridge Park on Tuesday afternoon (Oct. 25) and he lived up to his 1-5 off odds billing.
Sundown Kid (Matty Athearn) rushed past pylon starter Hespoisedtopounce A (Drew Monti) to take the lead and hit the quarter in :26.3. With the field following in single-file behind, Sundown Kid kept moving to the half in :54.4 when Jimmy Connor B (Nick Graffam) pulled from fourth and started the trek forward.
Sundown Kid and Jimmy Connor B hooked up and paced side by side to three-quarters and around the far turn as Hespoisedtopounce A sat chilly with the trip. At the top of the stretch, Jimmy Connor B got up by one-half length and then stretched out to a 1-3/4 length victory in 1:51.
It was the fifth win in eight Plainridge starts this year for Jimmy Connor B ($2.60) who is owned by Triple D Stables, M G Stable, Toby Rekoon, and Frank Canzone. Melissa Beckwith trains the winner.
There were also three $17,500 conditioned pacing events on the card that turned some very good miles.
In the first, Momentsthatmatter (Drew Monti) made a first-over move past the half to overtake the speedy State Senator (Kevin Switzer Jr.) at three-quarters and then pull away by 2-3/4 lengths in a new lifetime best 1:51.3. Momentsthatmatter ($7.00) is owned by Lester Geraldi Jr. and Anthony Passafaro and is trained by Matty Medieros.
Then, Bag Pipe Major (Kevin Switzer Jr.) led from gate-to-wire in fractions of :26.4, :55.4 and 1:23.3 before turning for home and holding off the tripped-out Adriano Hanover (Drew Monti) by a neck in 1:51.2, which was only one-fifth of a second off his lifetime mark. Bag Pipe Major ($4.00) is owned by Jan Donaway and is trained by Elisha Lafreniere.
Switzer and Lafreniere both had two wins on Tuesday.
Finally Rock Diamonds N (Ron Cushing) also flew to the front and marched out quarters of :27.2, :56.2 and 1:24.2 before closing out the mile with a nose victory over Anvil Hands (Jim Hardy) who closed impressively at the wire. Rock Diamonds N ($8.40) is owned by his driver Cushing and Kevin Sywyck and is trained by Heidi Gibbs.
Cushing and Gibbs both had two wins on Tuesday.
Driver Luke Hanners and trainer Jimmy Nickerson also doubled up during the afternoon with Hanners adding a third win in the final race.
The large carryover in the Wicked Hi-5 pentafecta in race six produced a sizable payout of $17,163.50 for a 20-cent wager on the combination of 1-8-5-7-6.
Racing resumes at Plainridge Park on Thursday (Oct. 27) at 2 p.m. Free full past performance race programs for all live race days can be downloaded by visiting the track's website and clicking the "Racing" tab.
(Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts)