Hey, Its Only the Fastest Mile of the Meet

Capping off an impressive spring, the Massachusetts Sire Stake eligible three year old pacer Hey Its Only Money faced the top older horses at Plainridge Racecourse on Tuesday afternoon, and responded by pacing the fastest mile of the spring meet. Stopping the teletimer in a sizzling 1:53.3 for driver Mike Eaton, Hey Its Only Money recorded his fifth win of the season, holding off Lennox Blue Chip and former Plainridge Horse of the Year H.H. Blackjack in the process. Bred, owned and trained by Eddie Blash of North Oxford, Hey Its Only Money has hit the board in all but one of his nine starts this spring, and was beaten less than a length in his only fourth place finish. With the early portion of the Plainridge meet concluded, Hey Its Only Money will now move on to compete in the Mountain Skipper series at Rockingham Park, where he is sure to be among the favorites.

The impressive effort by Hey Its Only Money overshadowed a performance earlier in the card by another Massachusetts sophomore pacing colt, as Midnight Lawyer made a successful 2009 debut. Enjoying the services of driver Kevin Switzer, Midnight Lawyer sat in the middle of the pack during soft early fractions, then roared home and held off Gray Bomber and driver John Nason after a thrilling stretch battle. The 1:56.3 mile established a new lifetime mark for Midnight Lawyer, who is owned by Steve O’Toole and trained by Nancy Longobardi.

Since three year old pacing colts Hey Just Call Me and H.J.’s Odd Toy also visited the winner’s circle over the past several weeks, four of the eight eligibles in that division have already posted wins this season. That group figures to be the most competitive division when the 2009 edition of the Massachusetts Sire Stakes program gets underway at Plainridge during the first week in September.