All eyes – and a lot of dollars – were on Adore Him in Monday’s $8,500 Preferred 3 for horse and gelding pacers at The Raceway at Western Fair District, but that front-stepper got picked off late by Maximus Power in a time of 1:56.3.
Maximus Power got away second for driver Travis Henry, who cunningly stalked Adore Him through panels of :29, :59 and 1:28. It turned into a final quarter sprint between those two, with Maximus Power using a :28.2 closing kick to win by a head over the 1-5 favourite, Adore Him. Shippen Out rallied to finish third.
Sent off at odds of 5-1, the Scott McNiven trainee won for just the second time this season from 25 tries. The four-year-old son of Shanghai Phil-Bashful Way is a nine-time winner to date for owners Kim McNiven and Douglas Heywood. The pacer surpassed $80,000 in career earnings with the victory.
To view results for Monday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Monday Results – The Raceway at Western Fair District.