Though an early scratch of morning-line favourite Chantilly took some steam from the Grade 1 $390,000 Fan Hanover final, Miki And Minnie nonetheless had to throw up her dukes to grab the gold with a 1:48.3 effort as the 1-9 chalk on Saturday, June 14 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Driver Dexter Dunn found a seat in fourth with Miki And Minnie while Wickedpace (Jody Jamieson) uncorked a :25.4 first quarter. Wickedpace opened a sizeable advantage before she slowed into the backstretch and Cant See Me (Louis-Philippe Roy) launched a first-over attack approaching a :54 half. Dunn angled off the pylons with Miki And Minnie to try and track the brush from Cant See Me, but once the latter cleared into the turn Dunn opted to grind first up on the rim through the turn.

Miki And Minnie ranged forward coming to three-quarters in 1:21.1 and hit top gear straightening for home to overhaul Cant See Me. She led the sprint for the beam as Rodeo Drive Deo (David Miller) launched a furious charge from the backfield at the centre of the track and The Last Martini (Doug McNair) poured through a seam at the pylons. The two fired after Miki And Minnie, but the favourite perked up when company came and held firm to win by a third of a length over Rodeo Drive Deo and The Last Martini, respectively. Wickedpace gave chase in fourth.

“I was really happy where I got away, the speed was on enough,” Dexter Dunn said after the race. “We moved up around the last turn and then she felt fantastic. She's just all class. She knuckled right back down to it [when Rodeo Drive Deo challenged late], and then she was pricking her ears at the line. She’s a bit like that. She’s a proper racehorse; she knows her job”.

A homebred Always B Miki filly trained by Chris Ryder for Craig Henderson, Robert Mondillo and Lawrence Minowitz, Miki And Minnie kept her unbeaten sophomore record intact from three starts this season while collecting her ninth win from 14 starts and accruing $1,383,822 in purse earnings.

“It's great to win these races, but it's really so much better with Dexter,” Chris Ryder said after the race. “I saw him grow up as a little fellow and been great friends with him and the mum and dad for most my lifetime. He's like a second son. It's terrific.”

As the 1-9 favourite, Miki And Minnie paid $2.20 to win.

For full results from Saturday's stakes-packed card of harness racing at Woodbine Mohawk park, click the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.

(Woodbine)