Guy "Sonny" Antonacci wanted the filly. He liked everything about her. He liked her conformation, her pedigree and her presence. He was determined to buy her, and when Sonny Antonacci had his heart set on buying a trotter, he was not easily dissuaded.

It took his son to talk him out of buying her.

It was Sept. 24, 1994, and the setting was the Tattersalls Yearling Sale in Lexington. The filly that the senior Antonacci had fallen for was a Brobdingnagian bay named Nursery Rhyme. She was by Speedy Crown from the champion mare Nan's Catch.

His son Frank saw her differently, and gave the thumbs down to his father. "Don't buy her," Frank counseled his father. "She's too big--much too big. She's never going to race."

Frank Antonacci laughed now, as he looks back on the sage advice he offered his father that night at the sale. The filly Nursery Rhyme, sold for $87,000 and was renamed Moni Maker. She blossomed into arguably the greatest trotter of our time.

When the hammer fell that night at Tattersalls in 1994, the Speedy Crown filly belonged to a partnership comprised of Carlyle Smith, his son David, and Alan B. Foster, all of New York State. They entrusted her to Bill Andrews, a proven master in the fine art of hanging up a trotter.

For Sonny Antonacci, the filly was gone but not forgotten.

As a 2-year-old, Moni Maker, tall but completely filled out, won six of 14 starts and $72,610. She was a respectable stakes filly, and it appeared obvious that her best days would come when she matured.

It was certainly obvious to Sonny Antonacci, who started pursuing her again early in Moni Maker's sophomore season. Her owners and trainer were having lots of fun racing Moni Maker in 1996. Every time she turned to the gate, she won. The driving assignment usually fell to Hennessey, the likeable Maritime horseman who raced her carefully, never trying to find out where her bottom was.

As long as Moni Maker was winning, everyone was happy.

Everyone, that is, except Sonny Antonacci. He was determined to join in the fun. He enlisted the services of agents David Reid and Geoff Stein to acquire Moni Maker. What resulted was a partnership between the original owners and Lindy Racing Stable--Sonny Antonacci's boys, Frank and Gerry. Needless to say, the purchase price was considerably more than $87,000.

It was for this partnership that Moni Maker won the Hambletonian Oaks in 1996. She continued to win, visiting the winner's circles at Syracuse, Mohawk and Yonkers. She went into the Breeders Crown at Vernon Downs, her home track, unbeaten in 18 starts. It was her night to shine for the hometown crowd, but things did not go as planned.

"I never did see the fence that night in the Breeders Crown," said Hennessey, "but still my trip was going pretty good. I was getting a second-over trip behind Act Of Grace. Her form was starting to slide a little, but she wasn't a bad one to follow. Midway through the final turn, Act Of Grace seemed like she was all done, so I knew I had to make my move three-deep. But you lose a lot of ground being three-wide at Vernon."

Act Of Grace was done in more ways than one. She was done trotting. When she jumped it off, she allowed Personal Banner to slingshot out of the pocket and get the jump on Moni Maker. The big mare fell a head short at the wire.

Moni Maker lost the Breeders Crown, but she didn't lose any respect from her connections. Without exception, they considered it her finest effort that year.

At the end of 1996, the Antonaccis took full control of Moni Maker and structured a new partnership, with 50 percent of the mare owned by a trust for Gerry and Frank's children, 20 percent owned by Harvey Gold, 20 percent shared by David Reid and Geoff Stein, and 10 percent to Paul Nigito. They operated under the Moni Maker Stable banner.

Jimmy Takter then took over training Moni Maker. The perceptive Swedish horseman knew he was getting a ready-made mare with great potential, but he didn't dream how great the ride would be.

Over the next four seasons, Moni Maker criss-crossed the Atlantic Ocean to ply her trade wherever the best trotters in the world met. It is a tribute to Takter and his team that she held her high form for such an extraordinary period. They emphasize, however, that the real credit rests with the mare herself.

Moni Maker was thrown to the wolves of European trotting in the spring of 1997, and Takter felt that her training was rushed a bit before she went to Europe.

"She wasn't as prepared as I would have liked," said Takter.

Jumping into the European Grand Circuit was a formidable task for any 4-year-old. But Moni Maker wasn't just any 4-year-old, and she impressed the cognoscenti with her power and speed. Despite a tiring three-day trip from Italy to Sweden, Moni Maker won a heat of the Elitlopp for driver Jos Verbeeck. In the final, she fell victim to slowdown tactics and finished fifth.

After winning in Norway, she returned to her native land and dominated the aged trotting scene for the remainder of the year. Wesgate Crown got the jump on her in the Breeders Crown, but she thumped him the following week in the Nat Ray, taking a 1:52.2 mark in the process.

Hennessey drove Moni Maker most often during her career, and never ceased to gush with admiration for the big mare. He repeatedly insisted that she made him look good, and compensated for his driving errors. When asked if she had any chink in her armor, Hennessey had to think hard to find one.

"Well, you could never go to the gate first," he said. "It wasn't really a concern, but I had to be aware of it. If you got her into the gate too quick, she'd really get up on the muscle. If you let her relax going in behind the gate, then the lines were loose."

Moni Maker spent the winter of 1997-98 racing in Italy, and in the spring she won her elimination heat in the Lotteria in Naples. Hennessey insisted, however, that his driving cost her victory in the final.

"Kramer Boy went to the front, and I waited too long to come with Moni Maker," said Hennessey. "I should have moved her three-deep earlier in the race. By the time I figured out what to do after a half-mile, I knew that everyone would be coming. If I had understood the racing tactics a little better, I think she would have won it."

She finished third in the Lotteria final, and a week later was a game second in the Oslo Grand Prix.

Prior to the prestigious Elitlopp, Takter's father, Bo William, trained Moni Maker a mile over the Jagersro track in 1:53.3f, faster than any trotter had ever raced on a five-eighths-mile track. The Swedish horsemen and media couldn't believe the workout time.

"Every time we gave her a good blow-out before a race, she seemed to get even better," said Takter, explaining his rationale for the stiff work.

The other Elitlopp horses probably wanted to call in sick on race day, but two eliminations heats with eight trotters each went to the post at Solvalla.

All eyes were on Moni Maker, and she didn't disappoint. She was parked through a brutal trip in her elimination heat, one that would have caused most mortals to curl up and wilt. Instead, she trotted bravely to the wire looking for more in the 1:54 mile. She left onlookers grasping for words to describe her performance.

Frank Antonacci described the heat by saying simply, "She was awesome."

Hennessey said, "She was as good as a Standardbred can possibly get."

The Elitlopp is a two-heat war, so her day wasn't over. She still had to face Huxtable Hornline in the final heat. Moni Maker drew post two with her rival at the rail. Before the final, Hennessey saw Swedish driving legend Berndt Lindstedt in the stable area at Solvalla and sought his advice.

"Bernie, I don't want to take back and follow Huxtable Hornline, do I?" he asked.

"Under no circumstances," said Lindstedt. "Don't even think about it."

Hennessey chose to drive Moni Maker in a manner that may have seemed foolhardy to some, but he knew how much horsepower he had between the shafts. He idled outside of Huxtable Hornline for a half-mile, then put Moni Maker in gear. Huxtable Hornline was so frazzled in trying to answer that he slipped into a pace and took himself out of the race.

Moni Maker went on to win the Elitlopp in record time of 1:53.3f, shrugging off the grueling skirmish as if it were child's play.

Swedish racing fans, who idolize great trotters, knew that they had seen one of the greatest ever. They roared out their admiration and appreciation, as Moni Maker made a triumphant tour up the stretch.

After winning the Copenhagen Cup, it was time for her to cross the Atlantic again and resume racing in quest of the Breeders Crown and Nat Ray. She took both events with ease.

Moni Maker again spent the final few months of '98 in Italy, where she attained the status of a demigod with the devotees of trotting in that southern European nation. She had a good spokesman in Italy in the jovial Marcello Ducci, an Italian trotting aficionado whose ties to the Antonacci family go back several decades.

"Marcello managed her European campaigns," said Antonacci. "His daughter Lisa was her veterinarian in Europe, and they both became very involved with Moni Maker."

What Frank Antonacci remembers most from the incredible ride with Moni Maker was her universal appeal.

"Everywhere she went, every horseman just marveled at what she did," she said. "They couldn't believe that she did what she did, race after race.

Hennessey noticed little change in her gait over the years.

"She didn't have as much action after Jimmy got her," he said. "He lightened her up. Billy [Andrews] never changed anything. Why would you when, she won 18 straight as a 3-year-old? She wore elbow boots, and she probably could have gotten along without those, but she was winning."

Hennessey shrugs his shoulders as if to say that shoeing didn't matter much with Moni Maker.

"I think she probably could have gone her whole career if you'd put four different shoes on her. Heck, she probably could have gone without the harness or headcheck." he said.

Moni Maker was so dominant in 1998 that she was an overwhelming choice as Horse of the Year. Her connections already had their sights set once again on Europe. This time they took aim at the Prix d'Amerique, the race which Takter called the "most difficult in the world to win."

Many American horses had traveled to Paris brimming with optimism before the Prix d'Amerique and had come back filled with frustration. It was a much different challenge than they had ever faced.

Through the winter of 1998-99, Takter honed the big mare to a fine edge, employing his intuitive skills to know how much training she needed while still not overtraining her.

Credit also goes to Takter's assistant, the personable Conny Svensson, who traveled across the Atlantic frequently to shoe the bay mare. Caretaker Roman Kogalin was an invaluable asset, too.

Takter still marvels at what Moni Maker did in a six-week period late in '98 and early '99. The adventure to Paris began the day after Christmas, when he drove her to victory in Rome. She was then literally on the road to Paris with a 24-hour truck ride.

For her races in France, Takter enlisted the services of French driving ace Jean-Michel Bazire. To ask Hennessey to drive under such trying circumstances wouldn't have been fair to him or to the horse.

It didn't take long for Bazire to sense what Wally Hennessey already knew. Moni Maker was so extraordinary that she would find a way to win regardless of her trip.

Bazire drove her twice prior to the Prix d'Amerique, and that gave him supreme confidence in her. In the 1-5/8-mile marathon on the last Sunday in January, he drove Moni Maker as if she were the best--which she certainly proved to be.

A large contingent of Americans, waving the stars and stripes, were there to cheer Moni Maker on. Frank Antonacci recalled the uncertainty that he and other Americans felt as they watched the unorthodox race over an unfamiliar track.

"We didn't understand the fractions or the race," Antonacci admitted. "We didn't really know what to expect. All I kept saying to myself was, 'When is it going to end?'"

It ended when Moni Maker cruised to the wire several lengths ahead of her pursuers, and her jubilant American cheerleaders poured onto the track en masse.

The strapping girl was, however, plumb tuckered out after her efforts.

"She was so tired the day after the Prix d'Amerique that she could barely lift her hind feet," said Takter. "We had her entered in the Prix de France in one week, and I didn't see how she could start in it, but after about four days later she started to show signs she was okay."

She then went out and won the 1-1/4 mile Prix de France in a mile rate of 1:57.2.

"For that period in early 1999, she was as good as a horse could be," Takter said.

After Bazire felt the powerful and stamina of Moni Maker, he told her owners that she would make a superb "monte" trotter for the under-saddle races in France. Bazire both drives and rides trotters, and he could spot a monte superstar in the making.

"We gave serious consideration to racing her under saddle early in 2000 when she didn't race in the Prix d'Amerique," said Antonacci, "but it just didn't work out."

What Bazire had done, however, was to plant a seed that would take more than 18 months to germinate.

After the Prix d'Amerique marathon, Takter had the task of getting Moni Maker ready for a two-heat sprint contest in the Elitlopp four months later.

Just as he had done the previous year, Takter used a member of the family to give Moni Maker a stern test before the Elitlopp. This time it was his brother Johnny who drove her to victory at the Jagersro track in Sweden, and she won by what seemed like half the homestretch.

"She was really in top form then," said Takter. "If the Elitlopp had been that day, she would have won."

Unfortunately, the Elitlopp was not that day, and Wally Hennessey doesn't remember the '99 Elitlopp nearly as fondly as the he does the previous year.

"She wasn't good in the Elitlopp that year," he recalled. "In the first heat, I got to the lead cheap, very cheap, and finished third. I was lucky to hold off the ones behind me."

Hennessey caught criticism for backing the pace down too much in the opening round of the Elitlopp, but he recalled the advice he was once given by Paige West, former trainer of Adios Butler.

"If you can't beat 'em fresh, you're not going to beat 'em tired," West had counseled Hennessey. He had tried to beat his foes fresh in the opening round of the Elitlopp and finished third. This was not the same Moni Maker who had raced at Solvalla the previous year.

Hennessey knew that if Moni Maker had been right, no horse in the Elitlopp field could step with her. One trait that repeatedly astonished Hennessey is how quickly the big mare could shift into high gear.

"She could go from a walk to as fast as she could go in two steps," he said. "As big as she is, she was very quick-footed. Horses could be trotting a 28-second quarter, and she could go by them like they were going the other way. That's how quick she was, but she never looked like she was exerting herself."

If there were 35,000 people at the Elitlopp that day, maybe 34,999 thought that Moni Maker got beat because Hennessey cut such slow fractions.

"There was one person at Solvalla who knew that the fractions weren't what got her beat," said Hennessey, "and that was me. I knew that deep down in my heart, because I know the mare in a race better than anyone."

Takter said he doesn't know what caused Moni Maker to be off-form in the Elitlopp, but he recalled that she showed signs of mild colic and seemed to have a lot of intestinal gas.

Hennessey knew that her performance was not typical. He tried to forget what an atypical effort she put forth in the first heat, but that impression wouldn't go away. So he raced her conservatively, and she finished second.

"In my mind, if I had driven her aggressively, she wouldn't have finished second, and I was happy to be second," he said. "I wanted to win it, and I know that the crowd thought I didn't put on a very good race, but everyone associated with Moni Maker was happy with second."

That was one of the few times when Hennessey ever doubted Moni Maker's capacity. Most of the time, he said that Moni Maker instilled so much confidence in him that he never got keyed up prior to a race. He knew that she would do whatever was necessary to win.

Moni Maker returned to the races at the Meadowlands on June 18, 1999, and what should have been a mid-summer night's dream turned out to be a nightmare.

It was a $25,000 free-for-all, a virtual "gimme" for the great mare. As usual, Hennessey let her float away from the gate and let the others get settled before he made his move after the opening quarter.

"Getting to the three-eighths, she never showed a sign of anything being wrong," said Hennessey. "I always let her do her own thing getting out of the gate.

"She didn't seem to be going on at first like she normally did, but she was okay. Then I showed her the whip. Usually when you did that, she'd just go. She never really went. So I tapped her saddle pad. Nothing."

"It was such a shock that I didn't know what was going on."

"Hey! Hey! C'mon now!" Hennessey yelled to the champion mare. He got no response.

To the inside of Moni Maker was Sonny Patterson, catch-driving Fool's Goal. He had a death grip on his horse to allow Moni Maker to go on past him.

"That's the trip I wanted that night," recalled Patterson. "Who wouldn't want to follow Moni Maker?"

Hennessey could see that neither driver would get his wish that night. He looked to his left and said, "Sonny, forget it. There's something wrong here."

There was indeed something dreadfully wrong, but Hennessey had no idea what. As she slowed and began to back through the field, he forgot all about winning the race.

"Had I asked her, I know she would have kept trying," said Hennessey, "and that wouldn't have been a good idea. I wasn't sure what had happened. I knew I didn't choke her. She wasn't the least bit grabby."

Hennessey let Moni Maker slow to a jog. She finished the mile last, far behind the field. When Hennessey pulled her up, he told Takter that he thought she might have a heart fibrillation problem.

Takter was totally mystified by what was happening, and Moni Maker probably felt the same way. The trainer credits Dr. Janet Durso, who took control of Moni Maker's care.

"She was a great help, because she had all the machines to give her information about what was going on," said Takter. "She got Moni Maker's heart back to normal."

Meanwhile, Takter's heart was out of rhythm, too.

"I was really, really worried," he admits. "They say that a horse really isn't in danger, but when you see a horse like that, you think she's doing to drop dead. Moni Maker had fear in her eyes. She was scared."

After the immediate crisis passed, Moni Maker was given medication to prevent a recurrence, and her training was eased. Although it's impossible to pinpoint the cause, Takter noted that the mare had been under a lot of stress with racing and shipping. Combined with some ulcers and mild dehydration, that may have triggered the fibrillation.

"Every two weeks since I got her, we took blood tests on her," said Takter. "This was a problem you couldn't see in the blood tests. We increased her electrolytes and made a few other changes, and she came back fine."

Takter trained her a few miles to see how she would respond, and he was comfortable that she had fully recovered. Still, there was considerable concern about her possible return to the races. If something untoward had occurred, the Moni Maker crew would have been second-guessing themselves forever.

"One thing we always agreed on is that we would never embarrass her," recalled Hennessey. "If she ever started to show signs of tailing off, that would be the end for her."

Hennessey was nervous when he slipped into the sulky behind Moni Maker on the day before the 1999 Hambletonian in a qualifier at The Meadowlands.