Plainridge and Big M stops for the Grand Circuit

Harness Racing This Week: Battle of Bunker Hill, Plainridge Park, Plainville, Mass., and Arthur J. Cutler Memorial, The Meadowlands, East Rutherford, N.J.

Schedule of events: Grand Circuit action begins this week on Thursday (May 16) at Plainridge Park with the $100,000 Battle of Bunker Hill for 3-year-old trotting males.

Then on Saturday (May 18), The Meadowlands has the $145,150 Arthur J. Cutler Memorial for open trotters.

Complete entries for the races can be found by clicking on this link.

Last Time: Sir Pinocchio (Met’s Hall) took the lead from a group of breaking horses on the first turn and held off favorite Blackhawk Zette in the stretch to win the $134,900 Dexter Cup for 3-year-old male trotters by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:56.2 at Freehold Raceway. Stockholm Hanover finished third.

Sir Pinocchio, the 2-1 second choice, set fractions of :30.1, :59.3, and 1:28.1 on his way to the victory, his second in two starts this season.

“He raced super,” trainer Ed Hart said about Sir Pinocchio. “There was a lot of mix up in the first turn, and I held my breath there for a minute. They came pretty good the last quarter (:28.1). He’s all right. He’s the real deal.”

Six horses went off stride in the May 4 Dexter Cup, with Sir Pinocchio and Blackhawk Zette, who won the Bobby Weiss Series final, the only two to remain trotting for the entire mile. Sir Pinocchio and Blackhawk Zette started from posts six and seven, respectively.

“It was kind of a mess in the first turn; I didn’t know what was going on, everybody was blowing up,” winning driver Jason Bartlett said. “We got through the mess and once I got around the first turn, I was pretty happy to be in the spot where I was. I didn’t realize that (Blackhawk Zette) got on my back until going down the backside, so I knew I had a good horse on my back, but (Sir Pinocchio) trotted home well.

“It was a good effort, a good race. Hopefully, he keeps improving like he is. He’s going to be a good horse.”

The triumph continued a run of stakes success for Sir Pinocchio’s family at Freehold. His dam, Lady Cromwell, is a full sister to Lord Cromwell, who won the 2017 Dexter Cup in a still standing stakes-record 1:55. His second dam, Oh Oh Its Magic, won a division of the Lady Suffolk Stakes in 2007.

Those two stakes-winners, who combined to earn more than $932,000 in their careers, were bred and owned by Carolyn Atherton and her husband, Irv, as is Sir Pinocchio.

Sir Pinocchio was a New York Sire Stakes Excelsior Series champion last year. He has hit the board in seven of nine lifetime starts, winning four and earning $123,877.

Sir Pinocchio paid $6.20 to win.

Complete recaps of all the races are available at the Grand Circuit website. For a list of 2024 race winners on the Grand Circuit, click here.

Grand Circuit Standings: In 2024, the Grand Circuit leaders in three categories (driver, trainer and owner) will once again be tracked on a points system (20-10-5 for the top three finishers in divisions/finals and 10-5-2 for the top three finishers in eliminations/legs). Winbak Farm is the sponsor for the 2024 Grand Circuit awards.

Here are the leaders (through the races on 5-4-24):

Drivers: 1. Matt Kakaley – 137; 2. Yannick Gingras – 114.5; 3. Jason Bartlett – 101.5; 4. George Brennan – 59; 5. Jordan Stratton – 55.

Trainers: 1. Travis Alexander – 112; 2. Per Engblom – 55.5; 3. Ricky Bucci – 52; 4. Cory Stratton – 50; 5. Pat Lachance – 47.

Owners: 1. Guy Corbeil – 57; 2. Kathy Cecchin – 45; 3. Mark Ford – 42; 4t. Symmetry Stables – 30; 4t. Flatland Racing – 30.

Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action will take place on May 26 at Harrah’s Philadelphia with the Maxie Lee Memorial, Besty Ross and Joseph Auger Memorial for older horses.

by Paul Ramlow, for the Grand Circuit