Paradise Moni showed his usual back-half motor and grinded through the stretch to go back-to-back in the $7,000 Preferred Handicap Trot class at Hippodrome 3R on Thursday, Sept. 10.
The gelding was last away of the seven-horse field but improved to sixth as a rival broke in front of him in a :29 first quarter. Denis St. Pierre pulled him third-over as the remaining six raced in two lines to the half in :59.2 with Prince Of Sussex (Francis Picard) on the front. Paradise Moni blasted three-wide on the backstretch, flying up to challenge Prince Of Sussex past three-quarters in 1:29.2 and edging ahead on the turn. Prince Of Sussex refused to capitulate but had no extra to battle back, and Paradise Moni completed the 1:59 victory by a half-length. Rose Run Why Not (Stephane Brosseau) completed the top three.
Paradise Moni has won four straight starts, including three Preferreds, and nine of his last 10 outings. The Kevin Maguire trainee has utilized an eye-catching come-from-behind style of late, with last-to-first Preferred wins on Aug. 20 and July 30. The five-year-old son of International Moni-Jessies Song is nine-for-18 this year for owners Ecuries Maguire Inc. of Sainte-Marie, Que. and Jean-Francois Maguire of Carlisle, Ont. Thursday’s victory brought him to 25-for-63 lifetime with $165,988 in earnings. He paid $3 to win.
To view Thursday’s harness racing results, click the following link: Thursday Results - Hippodrome 3R.
(Standardbred Canada)