Plainville, MA — It wasn’t an trip to say the least, but ER Griffin was up to the task and won the $25,000 Baystate Starter Allowance that headlined the Tuesday (Sept. 23) card at Plainridge Park.
Call Me Maverick (driven by Shawn Gray) grabbed the lead and parked out ER Griffin (Matty Athearn) past the :26 quarter before releasing him to the front. But Gray immediately pulled the right line, and Call Me Maverick was back out and around ER Griffin to reclaim the lead.
After the race sped to the half in :53.4, Always A Miki (Brett Beckwith) pulled first-over to approach the leaders and got to second at three-quarters before starting to fade. That left Call Me Maverick back in control until the top of the stretch, where ER Griffin tipped off cover and was in full flight, matching strides with Call Me Maverick all the way to deep stretch. And just before the line, ER Griffin forged to the lead by a head and won in 1:51.2.
It was the fourth win of the year for ER Griffin ($9.60), who is owned by his trainer, Mike Eaton, in partnership with Bob McHugh, Robert Griffin and Russell Young.
Earlier, in the $20,000 Baystate Starter Allowance, Varney (Mitchell Cushing) got away sixth before pulling third-over at the half in pursuit of Sweet Street Lou (Wally Watson), who got to that station in :54.1. Varney tipped three-deep at three-quarters and made his way to third at the head of the stretch. From there, Varney caught the leader and held off PL Pasquale (Brett Beckwith) and Danger Zone (Drew Monti) to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:52.
Varney ($9.60) is owned by Eddie Fournier Jr. and Brian Lamb, who also trains the winner.
Kevin Switzer Jr. registered a driving hat trick on Tuesday while 10 different trainers each won one race apiece.
Live racing at Plainridge Park will resume on Thursday (Sept. 25) at 2 p.m.
Free full past performance programs and race replays for all live racing days at Plainridge Park can be found at plainridgeparkcasino.com.