Less than 24 hours after his 32 metre defeat behind Cant Top This in the Ararat Pacing Cup, Modern Bliss pulled a rabbit out of the hat to claim a long-odds 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 were celebrating after the nine-year-old scored his first victory since the 2020 Terang Pacing Cup.
Tim O’Connor
