Monticello, NY — Far Better took home his seventh win in a row on Tuesday (June 22) in the $6,700 Open at Monticello Raceway.

Far Better took home his seventh win in a row on Tuesday in the $6,700 Open at Monticello Raceway. Geri Schwarz photo.

It’s been a month and a half since he made his first start at the track on May 6, following a brief, fairly unlucky, stint at The Meadowlands. Since then, he has slowly ascended the ladder, gradually rising through the ranks until he made the Open.

Once driver Mike Merton got the front end, he put a sleeper hold on the field and waltzed through fractions of :29, :58.3 and 1:27.2. There were some anxious moments as Far Better became a little rough gaited rounding the last turn, but he kept his composure to win by two lengths in 1:56.2 over Nox Vegas Bluechip (Cory Stratton). Hestons Lucky Chip (Jim Taggart Jr.) was third.

The son of Bettor’s Delight is trained by Nicholas Devita for owner Robert Stasio. The win gave Mike Merton four driving wins on the afternoon.

Also on the card, a pair of nice 2-year-old pacing colts hailing from the Gary Messenger barn won their first lifetime starts. KJ Unreal (So Surreal-Winsmith Molly) scored in 1:59.3 and KJ Hunter (Huntsville-Winsmith Jess) in 2:00. They are both owned by Scott Woogen, Brenda Messenger, and Philip Shapiro.

Bo Sowers had a training double on the card.