Osprey Impact trots away with Plainridge feature
August 16, 2018,by Tim Bojarski, for the Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts
Plainville, MA — It was like a sightseeing tour for Osprey Impact on Thursday afternoon (Aug. 16), as he went from gate to wire untested in the $16,000 Winners-Over trotting feature at Plainridge Park.
Tom Melanson photo
Osprey Impact won while under wraps in Thursday’s featured trotting event at Plainridge Park.
When the heavy post-time favorite Muscles Jared (Greg Merton) made a break before the gate released the field, it made Osprey Impact’s (Mike Stevenson) life a lot easier. Stevenson put him right on the point and dictated the rest of this story. After a moderate :28.2 quarter, Osprey Impact backed the half off to :58, and that allowed a now-flat Muscles Jared to motor on the outside and draw near the leader going up the backside.
But Osprey Impact was trotting well in hand and stepped off a :28.4 third panel just to keep everyone honest. That was enough to tire Muscles Jared, who was now backing up in the turn. Jericho (Jim Hardy), who had watched everything transpire from the two-hole the entire way, had nothing to offer when the opportunity came clear. As a result, Osprey Impact found himself trotting away from the field, eventually winning wrapped up by four in 1:55.3.
The pride of owner Paul Larrabee, Osprey Impact ($13.20) chalked up his 30th win in only 79 lifetime starts, the bulk of which were orchestrated by trainer Robert Marston.
In the $11,000 conditioned event for the 6-year-old and under diagonal set, Nows The Moment (Shane Taggart) tracked a front-end speed duel from fifth to the half before pulling second-over behind live cover, tipping three-deep off the last turn to take the lead at the head of the stretch and trot home clear by four lengths in 1:55.1, which tied his lifetime mark.
Nows The Moment ($6.20) is owned by Sonya MacDonald and is trained by Allison MacDonald.
Drivers Jim Hardy and Mike Stevenson ended the day with two wins apiece.
Racing resumes at Plainridge Park on Monday (Aug. 20) with post time at 4 p.m.