Blake MacIntosh posted career-best numbers in 2024. A fussy but fast filly and a calm caretaker were keys to his stable's success, and they look to give the longtime horseman his first O'Brien Award win.

The argument could be made that MacIntosh was overlooked after his 2024 season with career highs in wins (103) and purses ($3.3 million), but his team will be in the hunt for hardware at the 2024 O'Brien Awards Gala this Saturday, Feb. 8 in Mississauga, Ont. Two-year-old trotting filly Monalishi looks to have the inside track in her division, while her caretaker Mike Rivet is a finalist along with Natasha Steacy for the Outstanding Groom Award.

A $28,000 purchase out of the 2023 Standardbred Horse Sales Co.'s Yearling Sale in Harrisburg, Monalishi posted an impressive freshman campaign with purse earnings of $562,811, multiplying her original sales price 20 times over.

"When I'm looking at babies, I don't look at videos. I always look at the horse," trainer Blake MacIntosh told Trot Insider. "I find that videos lie and some people buy off videos. To me, I want to see the horse first and then, I can go back and look at the video later. It's a good tool to see what they do in the field, but it's not something that sways me one way or another.

"She was a stunning individual when we looked at her," continued MacIntosh. "She was on our list for Harrisburg. To me, she was my favourite one, but she fell in the wrong order and we got outbid on two of them. She was my favourite look-wise. I go by looks a lot. That's why we bought her. I just fell in love with the look of her. The dam hadn't produced up to her, but the second dam was strong. We took a shot on her."

Their shot was aimed correct as the daughter of Green Manalishi S and the RC Royalty mare Pretty Phylly G recorded six wins and two seconds in 10 starts with a mark of 1:52.2, taken in the 2024 Peaceful Way. 

Her first two starts were in qualifying sessions at Woodbine Mohawk Park, the first a 2:02.1 mile won by a neck and the second a 2:00 mile won by 10 lengths. Following her successful qualifiers, Monalishi made a miscue in her career debut after hitting the gate and finished distanced, but she quickly rebounded and won three straight races, finished second in the Peaceful Way elimination and then showed up in a big way in her top race.

Her career-best win by purse and time was the $390,000 Peaceful Way at Mohawk in August. Piloted by James MacDonald, the filly got away eighth, worked her way up the back half and continued home to score by a half length.

"The Peaceful Way this year was our highlight," said MacIntosh. "It was a great race for her. She was out of it. She came a long way and she just hunted them down and got the win. 

"It was a great night and something I'm super proud of," added MacIntosh. "We've won a lot of big races, but to win at your home track, big races, it's always special."

MacIntosh describes Monalishi as quirky and that she just wants to be left alone to do her own thing. From the start, he had thought he had a good group of horses heading into 2024 — Monalishi included — but as always it came down to race time.

"People say that they know, but you don't know until they put their nose on the gate. They show you how much heart they have and she's got a lot of heart, that's for sure. I'd say that she wants to win and wants to do it. That's her best attribute. She gets on the track and she doesn't want to get beat."

And while the filly has her strengths in her heart, MacIntosh explained that she has her preferences of how the race goes.

"She's not as good on the front...she likes to hunt down horses. She's better if she's hunting than if she's on the front. She's sort of waiting for them to come back so she can chase them back down. In the [Ontario Sires Stakes] Super Final, she let that horse get by. She didn't have the time to hunt her back down. She just wants to hunt down horses and beat them. That's the way she was training down, too."

Monalishi is co-owned by MacIntosh and Tim Klemencic, who MacIntosh said he has owned horses with for nearly a decade. 

"We've got a lot of good people supporting us and helping us and that helps a lot. Same with the grooms, we've had the same crew for a long time and they're good to be with. Just like every family, we have our problems, but at the end of the day, we always work it out. And it's for the love of the horse and it's for the love of the industry."

At the side of Monalishi throughout her success and part of MacIntosh's team was her caretaker, Mike Rivet, who is one of the two 2024 Outstanding Groom Award finalists.

"He really deserves it. He's got two trotting fillies that are really tough to deal with — Monalishi and Medley Seelster — who both made good money this year and both are very tough to deal with. They're very cranky and 'Mona' is very tough to catch in the stall. She goes to him and he does a good job with them and takes great care of them. He knows they don't want to be fussed upon and he lets them do their thing and doesn't get mad at them. And you know, treats them with kid gloves. I think that's the big reason why they both raced so well this year."

Rivet has worked on and off with MacIntosh for eight years, after he worked for him for four years before taking a break then returning for the last four years.  

"He's somebody I can count on," added MacIntosh. "He's there every day. He works hard and he gets things done."

(Standardbred Canada; photos courtesy New Image Media)