A change of scenery has worked wonders for trotter Neon Lights, quite possibly the hottest horse on the grounds at Rideau Carleton Raceway.
The four-year-old son of Chapter Seven - Fluorescent made his debut for the Gerard Demers barn this past May after racing in New York and on the WEG circuit with limited success. Neon Lights sported a summary of 3-1-0 in 26 starts before his time with Demers; since, his summary stands at 4-1-0 from just six starts. His most recent score came on Sunday (June 24) in Rideau's top class for trotters, the $8,400 Not Listed Preferred.
After being assigned the outermost post at draw time, Neon Lights was dropped into sixth in the early going by driver Jonathan Lachance. The duo was able to flush cover in front of the grandstand as favoured Flying Isa N (Stephane Brosseau) tested the waters in the outer flow heading to the half. Meanwhile, Ghirardelli Lindy (Richard Simard) fronted the field through splits of :27.4, :57.1 and 1:26.1, and still held command turning for home. Lachance tipped Neon Lights into the three path at the head of the lane, and made gains on the leader with each stride. Ghirardelli Lindy looked to be homefree but Neon Lights got up in the last strides to edge his rival by a neck in 1:56.3. Pocket-sitter Pasadena Star (Stephane Pouliot) was another half-length back to complete the triactor.
Now a winner of three straight for La Ferme Tag Inc. of Papineauville, Que., Neon Lights pushed his purse total over the six-figure plateau with the win, now boasting $103,838 in earnings.
In the co-featured $8,550 Not Listed Preferred Pace, six-year-old Killer Thriller (Jeremes Jet - Thrillicious) went the mile of his life to earn a new speed badge with a 1:52.3 gate-to-wire victory. Brett MacDonald handled Killer Thriller in his 28th lifetime win, besting Canadian Edition (Stephane Brosseau) and Print Media (Stephane Lareau), for owner Gilles Plourde and trainer-co-owner Karen Kroeger of Gatineau, Que.
For the results from Sunday's card of harness racing at Rideau Carleton, click the following link: Sunday Results - Rideau Carleton Raceway.