Evergreen pacer produces a big upset at $61.00

Less than 24 hours after his 32m defeat behind Cant Top This in the Ararat Pacing Cup, Modern Bliss (Modern Art) pulled a rabbit out of the hat to claim a long-odds harness racing victory at Victorian headquarters.

The Ash Warton-trained 11-year-old stunned punters with success in the Nutrien Equine Pace, saluting at $61 for young driver Shannon O’Sullivan.

It was a remarkable turnaround in form from Modern Bliss, who settled three back the pegs from gate one before pushing away from the inside approaching the straight and finishing too strong for his rivals.

In the end he beat Gotta Smudge by a metre, with key market fancies Ever Hoping and Magnetic Terror close-up in third and fourth respectively.

TrotsVision host Rob Auber was quick to ask O’Sullivan why it was that horses could often perform better when racing after a run the day before.

“I think they tuck themselves up pretty well and they lighten up a little bit overall if they have runs like that with a day apart or so,” she said.

“To be fair, a lot of the horses now get trained interval and heat work, so they’re pretty used to it and I don’t think it really knocks them around too much.

“He’s one I think thrives off it. He does very well for himself, so he probably lost a few kilos to lighten him up for tonight and I think it may have got him over the line because of that.”

O’Sullivan said it was great to land a win with Modern Bliss after running a number of placings with him in the past.

“I’ve been actually knocking on the door with him,” O’Sullivan said.

“I think there was a stage when I reckon I ran five seconds on him, and then Ellen Rixon jumped on and he won. I was hoping we would be able to break through with a win for him.

“It’s good to partner up with Ash. He actually used to work for my Dad (Jim) when I was a little kid, so it’s really good nowadays to be able to drive for him and to get a winner.”

Modern Bliss has been a marvel for Warton, with the horse boasting a record of 16 wins from 139 starts and almost $140,000 in prizemoney.

Later in the night, connections of former top-liner Code Bailey (Christian Cullen) were celebrating after the nine-year-old scored his first victory since the 2020 Terang Pacing Cup.

Driven by Lochie Cook, he was given a quiet time at the back of the field but finished best to claim the IRT Australia Pace.

Code Bailey was having just his eighth start since that Terang Pacing Cup triumph on Saturday night, and Cook said plenty of work had been going on behind the scenes in a bid to get the horse back to winning ways.

“He’s had a massive preparation on the treadmill and in the dam…,” Cook said.

“It’s a huge credit to Paddy Lee, Marg Lee and Jason (Lee) who have put a lot of time and money into this horse, and along with them is a massive group of owners who have backed this horse and always had faith in him to be a star.”

Code Bailey has now won 18 races from 51 starts, with prizemoney up over $300,000.

Early on the Melton card, 79-year-old trainer Faye McEwan took out the Colin Redwood Memorial Victorian Square Trotters Association Trotters Handicap Final with Watch And Act thanks to a perfect drive from Josh Duggan.

For complete race results, click here.

by Tim O’Connor for Harness Racing Victoria