by Joe Hartmann, for Plainridge Racecourse

PLAINVILLE, MA – There was a victory on Monday afternoon at Plainridge Racecourse, but the object of this owner’s affection is the third Thursday in September at a county fair in Delaware, Ohio.

Monday afternoon at Plainridge Racecourse, Frederick LaFlash’s Marced Card came from far off the pace to capture the $26,100 Stan Bergstein Pace final for three-year-old colts.

The time of the mile was 1:53 but the impressive aspect of the mile was the fact that Marced Card not only came from off the pace to victory but the fact that the race winner came the final half mile in 55.3 to collar the front running Alloveramerica, who took command early and attempted to steal the race with soft early fractions of 28.1 and 57.2.

“Around the last turn I was sure we were going to be able to track him (Alloveramerica) down,” winning driver David Ingraham said after the race. But everything in this race was changed when the one horse (Two Bobs And Barry) made a break. I thought he was going to go to the front. Everything changed at that point. I almost thought about going early but you don’t want to be hung out in a big race.”

With a solid and steady first over assault, Marced Card finally managed to collar Alloveramerica in the final quarter mile and win at the wire by half length.

Alloveramerica (Cambest), who has a 1:53.1 win as a two-year-old at Lexington and competed against the best colts in North America in the Burlington and North America Cup, held on to finish second. Two Bobs And Barry (Jenna’s Beach Boy) was third and Juarez (The Panderosa) was fourth.

“It was not the way that we planned it, but I never worried about not having enough time,” LaFlash said. “We have big plans for this horse and we hope that he will be good enough to take to the Little Brown Jug. But today I just want to enjoy this victory and thank everyone at Plainridge for treating us so well. Everything today was great.”

A three-year-old son of Cam ‘s Card Shark out of the stakes winning mare Marcella Hanover by Albatross, Marced Card was on the board in six of seven and banked $40,000 as a freshman.

This season, he came back off the layoff in mid-May and now has won five of his 10 starts and been on the board in eight of 10.

“We took our time with him with the specific goal of going to The Jug,” LaFlash said. “He wintered very well and we got him qualified at Spring Garden Ranch before we brought him north.”

Earlier on the card, Peter Sarnie Jr.’s Tree Hugger (No Nukes-Cam’s Cakewalk by Cam Fella) scored a new seasonal mark with a 1:54.1 win over Johnny Jo Jo and Terrific Bambino in the second leg of The Sixty Eight Series for trainer-driver Brad Irvine.