Plainville, MA — Swedish Starlet N got off to a quick start and then led at every station en route to victory in the $25,000 Fillies and Mares Open Pace at Plainridge Park on Tuesday (July 30).
Driver Matty Athearn bolted to the front off the gate with Swedish Starlet N and tripped the fractional timers in :27.3 and :57.1 at the half. As the field made its way onto the backstretch, Dandy’s Everlasting (Nick Graffam) pulled first-over from third and Turn The Page (Ron Cushing) quickly followed her cover.
After passing three-quarters in 1:25, Swedish Starlet N still maintained a length advantage as they entered the last turn over Dandy’s Everlasting and Turn The Page, who then tipped three-deep as they entered the stretch. Heading down the lane, Swedish Starlet N was in full flight and closed out the mile with a :27.3 sprint to hold off Turn The Page by a half length in 1:52.3.
The ninth win of the year for Swedish Starlet N ($7.60) pushed her earnings to $103,030 this year for owners Tim Bojarski and Tony Gruppo. Jimmy Nickerson trains the winner.
In the secondary featured $20,000 upper-level conditioned pace for female participants, Seaside Tina (Kevin Switzer Jr.) also made every call a winning one after taking the lead off the gate and skating through fractions of :26.2, :55.3 and 1:22.4 while Ry’s Red Rocket (Bruce Ranger) and Checkpoint Chatter (Jimmy Hardy) fought hard in chase. But as they made their way to the line, Seaside Tina stayed tough and turned back the late-closing Quarrel (Jay Randall) to win by one length in a seasonal best 1:51.
Seaside Tina ($2.80) is owned by trainer Mark Eaton in partnership with Robert Griffin.
Seaside Tina was the third win of the day for Switzer. Brett Beckwith also had three driving wins while Mike Girouard topped the trainers with two tallies.
Live racing at Plainridge Park resumes on Thursday (Aug 1) with post time at 4 p.m.