Drew Monti grand slams Mass Sire Stakes

Plainville, MA — The second leg of the $2.24 million Massachusetts Sire Stakes was contested at Plainridge Park with 34 3-year-olds going postward in six harness racing divisions for a total of $480,000 in purses. Each division went for $60,000 except for the trotting colts and pacing fillies who went split divisions of $30,000 each.

There were two big headlines on Sunday. Driver Drew Monti stole the show as he won both male trotting divisions with Incommunicado and Lindys Booze Cruz along with pacing filly Ideally Sweet and pacing colt Mullinax, and did it in four consecutive MASS races, claiming a natural stake grand slam. Also, two stake records were broken on Sunday by Mullinax and Purameri.

The day opened up with a non-betting event for trotting fillies where Moni for Lindy (Credit Winner-Live Moni) made it two in a row in stake action. Moni For Lindy (Bruce Ranger) got away fourth while Barmaid Express (Drew Campbell) and Royal Envy (Nick Graffam) battled to the half in :58.4. Ranger tipped Moni For Lindy at that point and they made their way up the outside, eventually reaching second at the top of the stretch. Moni For Lindy then dug in and chased down Royal Envy in the stretch to win by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:56.2.

Scoring her seventh win of the year, Moni for Lindy pushed her earnings to $271,377 for owner Greathorse and trainer Domenico Cecere. Moni Maker Stable bred the winner.

Next came the first division of trotting colts where Incommunicado (Chapter Seven-Gran Cavalla) dominated for the second straight week.

Incommunicado (Drew Monti) went right to the front, opened up a three length lead and maintained a gapped advantage throughout the mile. After cutting fractions of :28.3, :58.2 and 1:26.4, Incommunicado turned for home and stretched out to a 4-3/4 length margin at the line where he won in 1:56.2, which was a new seasonal mark and also tied his lifetime mark.

It was the second straight MASS stake win and fourth win of the year for Incommunicado ($2.10) who has now earned $175,015 this year for owners Knutsson Trotting, Little E, Arthur Geiger and David Stolz. Ake Svanstedt trains Incommunicado, who was bred by Moni Maker Stable.

INCOMMUNICADO REPLAY

The second division of trotting colts went to Lindys Booze Cruz (Bar Hopping-Universal success) who captured his first lifetime MASS win.

Lindys Booze Cruz (Drew Monti) got away third and watched as Twoscoopsforjack (Kevin Switzer Jr.) took the field to the half in :56.3. Past that station Lindy On Stage (Wally Watson) pulled first-over and Lindys Booze Cruz followed suit. Lindy On Stage took the lead from Twoscoopsforjack at three-quarters while in the middle of the track and when he did, Monti swung around him with Lindys Booze Cruz who also then cleared. Monti hit the pylons and Lindys Booze Cruz trotted away to a 5-1/4 length win in a new lifetime mark of 1:57.4.

Three-time 2021 winner Lindys Booze Cruz ($4.20) is owned by Clark Stables and Tina Clark and is trained by Robert Clark. Lindy Farms of Connecticut bred the winner.

LINDYS BOOZE CRUZ REPLAY

The first division of pacing fillies was next and Ideally Sweet (American Ideal-Sweet Bettor) put in a career effort while taking her first stake victory.

Ideally Sweet (Drew Monti) left from fourth and dropped in second behind the heavily favored Rightfully Mine (Shawn Gray) and followed her through quarters of :28, :57.1 and 1:25.2.

At the head of the stretch, Monti tipped Ideally Sweet and overtook Rightfully Mine and then held off a late bid from CBF Star Power (Steve Smith) to win by 1/2 length in 1:54.3, which was a new lifetime mark by almost two full seconds.

Ideally Sweet ($12.20) is owned by Triple C Stables and Chris Lems — who also bred the filly — and is trained by Jessica Okusko.

IDEALLY SWEET REPLAY

The glamour division of pacing colts was once again taken by Mullinax (American Ideal-Up Front Kellie Jo) who set two new marks with his victory.

Mullinax (Drew Monti) got away third and let Call Me Maverick (Mike Stevenson) and American Maverick (Kevin Switzer Jr.) argue for the front in :26.4. When Call Me Maverick finally settled on the lead, Monti pulled Mullinax before the quarter and took the lead in front of the grandstand as they rolled to the half.

When he got to three-quarters in 1:23.4, Mullinax had a 1-1/4 length lead over Call Me Maverick and these two started separating from the rest of the field. Down the stretch, Call Me Maverick tipped off cover and started chipping away at his deficit. However Mullinax would have nothing to do with it and paced through the light on top by 1/2 length in 1:51.3.

The clocking was a new lifetime mark for Mullinax and it also tied the MASS stake record for 3-year-old pacing colts.

Mullinax ($2.10), who was the 2-year-old MASS champion, is halfway to repeating at three. Owned by William Varney and trained by Mark Ford, Mullinax has earned $144,547 this year on the strength of his three wins. Ed Mullinax and Mark Ford bred the winner.

MULLINAX REPLAY

Mullinax completed Monti’s stake grand slam, however he added one more overnight win to finish with a total of five victories on the nine-race card.

The final stake of the day featured the second division of pacing fillies and another 2-year-old MASS champion, Purameri (American Ideal-JK Pure Pearl), looked like she’s a candidate to repeat after putting in a record breaking effort.

Purameri (Nick Graffam) got away last in the short field of five as last week’s winner and post time favorite So Amazing (Bruce Ranger) scooted through quarters of :27.1 and :56.3. As the field made their way to three-quarters, So Amazing was starting to look vulnerable when Suzie Blue Chip (Drew Campbell) drew alongside while Purameri was following closely behind at that point. Suzie Blue Chip cleared by the seven-eighths but Purameri was under a full head of steam, blew right by in the stretch and then pulled away to a 3-1/2 length win in 1:53 flat.

The time was a new seasonal mark for Purameri and set a new stake record for 3-year-old pacing fillies. Purameri also holds the 1:52.4 stake record for 2-year-old pacing fillies that she set last year.

Purameri ($5.80) pushed her 2021 earnings to $82,706 after scoring her second win for owner Purple Haze Stable. It was also the second MASS win on Sunday for trainer Jessica Okusko who sent Ideally Sweet to the winner’s circle earlier in the card.

PURAMERI REPLAY

The Massachusetts Sire Stakes will resume at Plainridge Park on Monday (Oct. 3) when 2-year-old competitors of both gaits and sexes will gather for their second leg. Post time for the first race is 2 p.m.

For full race results, click here.

By Tim Bojarski, for the Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts