Plainville, MA — A pair of $17,000 condition races topped the bill at Plainridge Park on Monday (July 20) and both gaits were beneficiaries of those respective purses.
First in the trot, Alamo Mission (Brett Beckwith) got away fourth as Bill Bauer (Nick Graffam) took the lead at the :27 quarter and continued to dictate fractions to three-quarters. It was there that Alamo Mission was rolling outside in the breeze and trotted adjacent to Bill Bauer as the race made its way through the turn. When the field turned for home, Alamo Mission pulled ahead and held off the field to the line where he won by a length in 1:53.4.
It was the first win of the year for Alamo Mission ($4.60) who is owned by Greathorse and trained by Domenico Cecere.
Then later in the pace, a three-horse, three-wide dash to the quarter resulted in three lead changes that finally saw Beantown Ace (Mitchell Cushing) settled on the lead and once she got there, she got it all her way. Beantown Ace reached the half in :53.4 and three-quarters in 1:21.2 and extended her lead to do r lengths. After rounding the turn, Beantown Ace paced clear to the line where she won by two lengths in 1:51.1, tying her lifetime mark…