Grand Circuit stakes at Plainridge Park Monday

Plainville, MA — Even though the Massachusetts Breeders Stake is on hiatus this week, there will be no shortage of top-notch 3-year-old harness racing competition at Plainridge Park on Monday (Oct. 7) as the Grand Circuit will make its final stop of the year in the Commonwealth with four events totaling $215,050 in purses. Post time for the first race is 2 p.m.

The day will begin with the $53,150 Colonial Oaks Trot for sophomore fillies and Elista Hanover (International Moni-Evermore) comes in checking all the boxes.

Elista Hanover is currently tied as the winningest (11) and fifth fastest (1:51.3) and is the sixth richest ($367,869) 3-year-old trotting filly in North America. She just won the Pennsylvania Sire Stake final at Mohegan Sun Pocono which was preceded earlier in the year by 10 straight stake victories that culminated with a win in an elimination of the Hambletonian Oaks back in July at The Meadowlands.

Trainer Annie Stoebe has David Miller in the bike starting from post four.

Her main competition may come from Sister Mary Maude (Crazy Wow-Perfect Mass) who earned over $300,000 this year almost all in New York Sire Stake action, and Nymeria (Chapter Seven-Zette Minx) who is an eight-time winner in 2023 who just took her lifetime mark of 1:54 at Vernon Downs while winning the New York Sire Stake Excelsior final.

Ron Burke has assigned Yannick Gingras to drive Sister Mary Maude while Travis Alexander will have Matt Kakaley up again and they will start from post two and one respectively.

Next up is the W.N. Reynolds Memorial pace for both sexes. The colts and geldings will vie in two divisions of the “Tar Heel”, each valued at $49,875 while the fillies will contest one division of the $62,150 “Leta Long”.

In the first division of the Tar Heel, Howlenthehills (American Ideal-Arielle Lynn) has had an outstanding season since his visit to Plainridge Park back in May when he took a then new lifetime mark of 1:51.1 after winning the Paul Revere Pace. After that, Howlenthehills career took off as he went undefeated in the NYSS, including a win in the final.

He also finished second in the Messenger Stake at Yonkers, won the Empire Breeders Classic at Tioga and finished second in the Jennas Beach Boy at Hoosier. Those efforts combined now find Howlenthehills the richest ($531,578) and second winningest (11) 3-year-old pacing gelding in North America.

Howlenthehills has drawn post one and trainer Travis Alexander has regular reinsman Matt Kakaley back in the bike again for this outing.

Although Solid Character (Sweet Lou-Riley Character) has not put up the numbers Howlenthehills has this season, he has been a very steady competitor that has shown formidable speed in all of his outings. That was never as pronounced as in his last start, a lifetime best win in the Keystone Classic at The Meadows where he scorched the track in 1:49.2 by a gapped advantage.

Yannick Gingras picks up the lines for Ron Burke from post three.

Armada Hanover (Stay Hungry-Anderosa Hanover) had a very similar year to Solid Character, always finishing close and with a very swift turn of foot. He too just took a 1:49.3 lifetime mark after winning the PASS consolation at Mohegan Sun Pocono.

Local favorite Matty Athearn has been assigned to drive Armada Hanover by trainer Brett Pelling and they have drawn post two for this event.

In the other $49,875 split of the Tar Heel, Sweet Beach Life (Sweet Lou-Life Is A Beach) comes in with some gaudy numbers that rightfully find him the early choice.

Sweet Beach Life is the second richest 3-year-old gelding in North America ($338,936) right behind Howlenthehills and those earnings came after big wins in the Messenger Stake at Yonkers and the PASS final at Mohegan Sun Pocono. Sweet Beach Life also qualified for the final of The Little Brown Jug after finishing fourth in his elimination but drew post eight in the final and had little chance from there in the :54.4 back half.

Travis Alexander and Matt Kakaley will team up again here and start from post four.

Copperfield (Betting Line-American Charm) has had some modest success in Kentucky Sire Stake action this year, but only has one win in the series. That said, he has also been race-timed twice in 1:49.2 and 1:49.4 at The Red mile, making him a formidable foe for the presumed post time favorite.

Copperfield will have Yannick Gingras in the driver’s seat as assigned by trainer Per Engblom.

Finally, a full field of eight second-year pacing fillies will go postward in the $62,150 Leta Long and two of them are already quite familiar with Plainridge.

After finishing fifth in an elimination of The Jugette in Delaware, Ohio last month, Leanne’s Choice (Courtly Choice-Village Madonna) came directly to Plainridge Park and went gate to wire in a lifetime best 1:50.2 in an overnight event to acclimate for this race.

And after not making a start since mid-May, So Well Dressed (So Surreal-Gotmyredressontnit) qualified at Vernon Downs and then shipped to Plainridge where she finished third by only a half a length in 1:50.1, and that was after making a break at the top of the stretch.

Leanne’s Choice has Marcus Miller up again for trainer Erv Miller from post seven and David Miller will be in the bike for the first time behind So Well Dressed for trainer Chuck Connor Jr.

Another notable in the race is Tempville (Huntsville-Tempest Blue Chip) who comes in on a five-race win streak that includes a victory in the final of the NYSS Excelsior series. Tempville has a total of nine wins this year and should be in the mix at the wire.

Trainer Cory Stratton has North America’s second leading dash driver, Brett Beckwith, in the bike and they will line up from post four.

The Colonial Oaks is race one, the Reynolds Tar Heel splits go as race three and five and the Reynolds Leta Long is carded as race six.

by Tim Bojarski, for Plainridge Park