Nui Ba Den N ($4.70) overcame post eight to win Tuesday's $7,700 Open Pace at Monticello Raceway, and his driver, Cory Stratton, accounted for half the winners on the card.
Nui Ba Den N blasted from his outside post to land in third before Stratton pulled him past the quarter to attack. The son of Gotta Go took the overland route to a half-length win over Sammy B Happy (Ronnie Morales III) and Barnabas (Brandon Parker) in 1:54.3. The Chris Petrelli trainee paid $4.70 to win.
The feature victory capped a driving grand slam for Stratton, who also won with Ideal Olympic Ace ($6.70, 2:01.1), Brookdale Jessie ($17.60, 1:58.2) and Bass Player ($20.60, 1:56.3). The 29-year-old now ranks fourth in the Monticello driving standings with 156 wins, trailing only Mike Merton (203), Bruce Aldrich Jr. (166) and Jim Taggart Jr. (160).
(with files from Monticello Raceway)