Cinnamon Stick circled three-wide into the final turn and vaulted to victory in the $6,100 Open Trot on Wednesday afternoon (Jan. 27) at Monticello Raceway.
The six-year-old Jailhouse Jesse gelding rode the cover of Shoot The Thrill up the backstretch before driver Greg Merton pointed him three-wide into the final turn. From there, Cinnamon Stick slingshotted to a mid-stretch lead, edging clear of pocket rival Exarch (Ronnie Morales III) by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:59.4 for his first seasonal win. Pacesetter Sweet Royalty (Jimmy Devaux) finished third.
Greg Decker trains Cinnamon Stick, who paid $4.10 as the even money favourite, for Michael Mulligan.
The feature win capped a grand slam for Merton, who also drove Proudamericangirl (2:01.1, $5.10), Cee Pee Panic (1:58, $6.80) and OK Icon (1:59.2, $10.80) to victory.
Candace-brandstatter
Greg-decker
Michael-mulligan
Greg-merton
Mike-merton
Jimmy-devaux
Jailhouse-jesse
Shoot-the-thrill
Cinnamon-stick
Ronnie-morales
Sweet-royalty