New record beckons Muscle Mountain

Muscle Mountain’s (Muscle Hill) win in the $40,000 G3 Continental Summer Trotting Free for All at Addington last night was his fortieth and is a stepping stone to breaking a record that’s stood for thirty years.

Trainer Greg and Ben Hope now have their eyes on Idle Scott’s New Zealand record of 45 wins in this country.

“I’ll be lovely if we get that and with the form he’s in I think we can,” Greg said.

When the mobile pulled away, driver Ben Hope took the nine year old straight to the front, dictated all the terms and went down to the line to win impressively by four lengths from Empire City, with half a head back to Nellie Doyle in third.

MUSCLE MOUNTAIN REPLAY

Raced by Cullen Breeding, the win was Muscle Mountain’s twenty seventh at Addington and it was the fourth time he’s won the Summer Trotting FFA.

“Dobbie who owned him has passed away now but he was instrumental in making the horse. He gave us the opportunity to back off the horse when we needed to and it’s standing to the horse now. It’s all down to Dobbie. We could have easily over raced him but we didn’t want to.”

Muscle Mountain will be back at Addington for the Lamb and Haywood Trotters Classic in a fortnight before tackling the $100,000 Fred Shaw Memorial New Zealand Trotting Championship which he’s won three times.

“He still seems to be the same horse he was two years ago. He’s an amazing track worker. Just an amazing horse.”

For complete race results, click here.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink