Final Breath wrested the early lead from Perlucky and kept him at bay late to capture his second straight victory in Monday’s $18,000 Open Handicap Trot at The Meadows.
Although Final Breath was forced to a demanding 27.3 opening panel, Tony Hall was able to give him a 29.3 second-quarter breather. With that, the 10-year-old Victory Sam-First Breath gelding held off the pocket-sitting Perlucky by a length to score in 1:53.4, with Icanflylikeanangel third.
Norm Parker trains Final Breath, who now boasts a lifetime bankroll of $615,058, for Duane Lowe.
Mike Wilder collected four wins on the 13-race card.
Live racing at The Meadows continues Tuesday when the program features a $5,000 total-pool guarantee in the Pick 4 (races 3-6) and a $2,059.32 carryover in the final-race Super Hi-5. First post is 1:05 p.m.
(Meadows Standardbred Owners Association)