Jericho goes undercover to take Plainridge feature
July 19, 2018,by Tim Bojarski, for the Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts
Plainville, MA — As a result of some nifty driving by Joe DiStefano, Jericho shadowed two horses through the mile before making his move to win the $12,000 conditioned trotting feature at Plainridge Park on Thursday afternoon (July 19).
Tom Melanson photo
After stalking patiently through the early stages, Jericho fled the scene late in Thursday’s featured trot at Plainridge Park.
Wind And A Prayer (Mike Stevenson) took the early lead and gave Jericho a pocket trip to the half in :56. At that station, Nathaniel (Drew Campbell) was already out and moving and when he got even with Wind And A Prayer, Jericho pulled and followed him on the rim.
Nathaniel cleared and Jericho dropped in right behind him to find the garden spot one more time as they sped to three-quarters in 1:23.4. The two horses played follow-the-leader around the far turn until Jericho pulled as they headed to the top of the lane. Nathaniel and Jericho tangled stride for stride heading towards the wire, but Jericho had more trot when it counted and pulled away to a three-length win in 1:54, which equaled his lifetime mark.
It was the fourth win of the year for Jericho ($10.20), who now has $28,620 on the card for owners Linda and Robert Kenney and his driver Joe DiStefano, who also trains him.
DiStefano also won the sub-featured $10,000 conditioned trot with Dial A Chic ($7.60), who also sat a two-hole trip behind Vodkancaviar (Drew Campbell) before popping the deuce and out-sprinting the pacesetter to the wire in 1:55. DiStefano also owns and trains the winner.
There were no winners in the sixth-race Wicked Hi-5 pentafecta wager. As a result, there will be an all-time record carryover of $16,321 for that wager in race six on Friday (July 20). Post time for the first race is 4 p.m.