Twin B Joe Fresh served notice to the older mare division at the end of her three-year-old campaign by winning the FanDuel Pace against older mares. That performance was only a preview of what was to come, as the Chris Ryder trainee dominated the division in 2024, earning the Older Pacing Mare of the Year title in the United States and in Canada at last weekend's O'Brien Awards.

"After the second start, the race at [Harrah's Philadelphia] ...she just took off in [1:]48 and was really strong that day," said Ryder, recalling when he knew he was in for a special year with his pupil. "The writing was on the wall straight away really."

In all, the daughter of Roll With Joe-Fresh Breeze won 11 of 13 starts in 2024, never finishing worse than second. Winning essentially every major race for pacing mares in both the U.S. and Canada, Twin B Joe Fresh racked up scores including the Roses Are Red, Milton, Breeders Crown and a career-best effort of 1:47.3 in the Dorothy Haughton Memorial at The Meadowlands. She concluded her four-year-old campaign by defending her title in the FanDuel, pushing her seasonal earnings to $1,231,252.

Ryder co-owns the star distaffer with regular driver, Dexter Dunn, along with Peter Trebotica and Barry Spak. Twin B Joe Fresh will enter 2025 having won 30 of 40 career outings, having only missed the board twice and with career earnings of more than $2.6 million.

Having dominated her fellow females in 2024, Ryder acknowledged that the door may still be open to Twin B Joe Fresh taking on the boys in 2025.

"There's been a bit of thought," Ryder said on the possibility of taking on male competitors. "We've got it in the back of our mind, as long as she's good and whatever particular race sets up and looks like it could be good, we'll give it strong consideration, but only if she's really good."

In an interview with Standardbred Canada's Jeff Porchak, Ryder reflects on where Twin B Joe Fresh's season ranks in the recent history of great pacing mares, how much room for growth she has in 2025, along with crediting the team who keeps the mare atop the sport. The interview is the eighth in a series of interviews sponsored by Horse Racing Alberta.

(Standardbred Canada; photos courtesy New Image Media and Lisa Photo)