Canadian-sired Northern Chief extended his own Monticello Raceway track record for consecutive victories when the veteran pacer cruised to his 14th win in a row on Thursday, December 9
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Mike Merton was again at the controls and he guided Northern Chief to a wire to wire triumph in a time of 2:00.
“He’s just unbelievable. What else can I say? He hasn’t raced in two weeks and he still just got the job done,” Merton said by phone from the paddock after the race.
Northern Chief was being stalked throughout the mile by the co-favourite, Full Of Heart who was driven by Greg Decker, Jr. As the two lead pacers approached the three-quarter pole Decker had his pacer tight on Merton’s but when Merton pulled his horse’s ear plugs Northern Chief scooted away and went on to a length victory over Full Of Heart.
“We did get a little lucky after having drawn the eight-hole when there we two scratches in the race but I really don’t think that made a lot of difference since we grabbed the lead before the first turn,” Merton added. “But the short field allowed us to get to the half in 1:01 and from there I knew he was unbeatable."
Racing for a $4,000 price tag since the end of July, Northern Chief now has 15 wins, four seconds and one third in 22 seasonal starts. He’s trained by Gary Messenger for owners Robert Merton Jr. and Alfred Desimone, both of Monticello, NY. The winning payoff was $3.20.
(Monticello)