The Meadows: Looks Like Moni has been cashing in

Veteran trotter Looks Like Moni has been finding himself in the money on a regular basis since arriving at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows in late December. The 6-year-old gelding has hit the board in all six of his western Pennsylvania starts, winning twice and finishing second three times and third once for trainer Tim Twaddle.

In his most recent performance on Feb. 6, the son of Muscle Hill-Thats All Moni won the $18,000 Open Handicap by 1-3/4 lengths in 1:54 2/5. He returns to that level again Thursday at The Meadows, where he will leave from post three with driver Anthony MacDonald in a field of six. Looks Like Moni is the 3-2 morning-line favorite.

“He’s done a nice job,” said Twaddle, who saw Looks Like Moni miss by a head and a nose in his two races prior to last week’s Open triumph. “He represents every week; he comes out to do his work. He’s gotten a little bit better each time, and last week I thought he was extra special. I expect him to keep it up. He seems to be getting more comfortable with the routine here and he’s fit in nicely.”

Looks Like Moni, owned since November 2022 by TheStable Looks Like Moni group, has won 14 of 67 career races and earned $470,193. He was a winner on the New Jersey Sire Stakes circuit for trainer Nancy Takter at ages 2 and 3, and as a 4-year-old he finished second to Jiggy Jog S in the Graduate Series final for trainer Megan Scran.

He also earned paychecks in the 2021 Peter Haughton Memorial and Kentucky Sire Stakes Championship Series final, 2021 and 2022 New Jersey Sire Stakes finals, and 2023 Hambletonian Maturity.

“He’s a top, high-class animal,” Twaddle said. “Those kinds of horses are always welcome. Plus, he’s a really nice horse to be around and jog and train. He’s not a hothead, he’s just a really sweet horse to be with. He’s got a nice personality.”

Looks Like Moni has competed in the U.S. and Canada and won on every size racetrack — half, five-eighths, seven-eighths, and mile — during his career. His lifetime mark of 1:51 4/5 came in 2022 at The Meadowlands.

“Good horses adapt and do a nice job for almost everybody and everywhere,” Twaddle said. “He’s not quirky in any way. He’s just a nice horse.”

MacDonald has driven Looks Like Moni in five of his six races at The Meadows. In four of those starts, he had Looks Like Moni in second place at the half-mile point. In the other, he was third.

“He suits Anthony’s aggressive style because The Meadows is a track where you’ve got to be put in play,” Twaddle said. “I don’t know if he’s the best horse I’ve seen leaving the gate, but he certainly can make his way to the front and carry his speed. He’s a big, good-looking bugger, so he can handle it, and he really likes the surface here.”

Racing begins at 12:45 p.m. (EST) at The Meadows.