Plainville, MA – Driver Greg Merton, trainer Amanda Kelley and the Scheigert Stable proved to be a potent combination at Plainridge Park on Monday afternoon (May 24) as they scored wins in the top two pacing features of the day.

The Saratoga-based connections sent out Lake Charles ($8.00) from post one in the $25,000 Open Handicap pace and tripped-out behind the red hot Duplicated N (Bruce Ranger) who left from post nine in :25.4. After leveling off the pace in a :55.1 half, Duplicated N took pressure from Sports Obsession (Drew Monti) who came first-over and pushed a :27.3 third panel.

Lake Charles scored by a quarter length over Ocean Colony and Mansome in the co-feature this afternoon at Plainridge. Tom Melanson photo.

That battle lasted until the top of the stretch where Sports Obsession faded and Lake Charles popped the deuce. Under Merton’s guidance, Lake Charles paced by Duplicated N and then held off late charges from Ocean Colony (Drew Campbell) and Mansome (Kevin Switzer Jr.) to win by a quarter length in a season’s best 1:51.4.

It was the second win in as many starts for the 4-year-old altered son of Well Said-Bodacious Hanover who pushed his lifetime earnings to $186,650 on the strength of that win.

Then in the $13,000 secondary feature for claimers tagged at $15-$20,000, the winning group watched as Cigars And Port ($4.20) left from post six and took complete control of the race by the three-eighths pole. After getting to the half in a tepid :56, Merton stepped up the pace as Cigars And Port drew heat from Zampara (Drew Campbell) who paced stride for stride with the leader in a :27.2 third quarter. At that station Cigars And Port pulled away by two lengths and heading down the lane, extended that advantage to 4-3/4 lengths to win in 1:51.3, which was a new lifetime mark.

Cigars And Port proved to be much the best with a 4-3/4 win in the co-feature. Tom Melanson photo. 

Cigars And Port, who was the New York Sire Stakes 2-year-old pacing male champion in 2019, extended his winning streak to four after Monday’s win and saw his lifetime earnings inflate to $240,373.

Live racing will resume at Plainridge Park on Thursday (May 27) with post time at 4 p.m.