Trot Insider continues to showcase this year's O'Brien Awards finalists, with the spotlight on Older Trotting Mare category heading into this Saturday's black tie gala.
Bella Cavalla worked out a productive season, racing primarily in the upper optional claiming ranks at Woodbine Mohawk Park. In her six-year-old season, the mare won five times in 35 starts. She raced against male opponents often, including Older Trotting Horse finalist Nasey, whom she defeated on Oct. 13. That win came in a 1:53.2 performance, which was her seasonal mark.
“There's not a ton of aged trotting fillies around, so [an O’Brien nomination] was not even anything that was ever on the radar for her because she's just kind of a week in, week out racehorse,” said Kyle Fellows, who trained the mare in all but four starts in 2025. “She grinds away, and she gives you a real solid effort on the racetrack every week. So to get the recognition for her, I think is really cool. It's just kind of a really cool milestone for her as well."
While Bella Cavalla may be cantankerous in the barn, owners Michael Sergi of Canton, N.Y. and David Phillips of Maidstone, Ont. claimed her back twice over the course of the year — first from the Corey Giles barn, from which she made her first three starts of 2025, and then after one start for Jodie Cullen in November. On the year, the daughter of Dover Dan-Ciao Bela earned $84,280 and compiled a 5-2-10 record.
“The guys that own her really like her,” said Fellows. “We get along with her, like we understand her quirks and we can kind of work with her, but she is definitely challenging to work with, so you just have to take your time and be careful with her. But she shows up and puts it out on the racetrack, so you've got to at least respect that and appreciate that.”
Call Me Goo, the reigning title holder in this division, is a finalist on the strength of her 2-2-2 record in nine starts, including two stakes victories at The Meadowlands. The recently-retired Ake Svanstedt trainee made four starts in Canada, registering her best finish north of the border with a place effort in the Armbro Flight. She also produced the fastest mile by a trotting mare in Canadian history, 1:50.1, when she finished fourth in the Maple Leaf Trot.
For Adam Ainspan, who co-owns the mare along with his wife, Mary Beth Roberts, via the Clifton, Va.-based Graham Grace Stables LLC, that was the high point of her year.
“For Call Me Goo, [the highlight] will be the Maple Leaf Trot, which most people wouldn’t think because she came in fourth, but she was the only mare in the race,” said Ainspan. “That was the fastest mile any mare has ever trotted in Canada, even though she came in fourth. That meant a lot to me.
“She was never in a position where she was going to win that race, but she really handled herself well. Just to make the final and do that well in the final, that was my highlight for her.”
Call Me Goo won back-to-back stakes events at the Big M in the summer as she captured the Six Pack in 1:51.2, her seasonal mark, on June 28 and the third leg of the Miss Versatility on July 12 in 1:51.3. Svanstedt drove the mare in most of her starts as a five-year-old, with Tim Tetrick subbing in for four drives at the tail end of the season. The daughter of Googoo Gaagaa-Callmemza earned $283,845 for Graham Grace Stables, William Roberts of Brandywine, Md., Kiwi Stables LLC of La Plata, Md., and Ake Svanstedt Inc. of Wrightstown, N.J.
“Me and my wife and some of the Roberts were there [at the O'Briens] last year, and this year we’re going to have an even bigger entourage, and we’re all looking forward to it,” said Ainspan, who also co-owns two-year-old pacing colt finalist Beau Jangles. “People in my family, a lot of them, are looking forward to getting all dressed up and heading up to Ontario at the end of January.
"There aren’t too many Americans that say ‘I’m excited about going to Ontario at the end of January!’” added Ainspan with a laugh and a nod to the forecast of daytime highs of -20°C (with wind chill) on both Friday and Saturday in London, Ont.
Emoji Hanover joined the Mohawk conditioned ranks in the late summer and quickly found her groove. She started her season on the Grand Circuit with a place finish in her Armbro Flight elimination and finished sixth in the final, and after ninth- and seventh-place finishes in the Hambletonian Maturity and Steele Memorial, respectively, she returned to Mohawk on a more permanent basis. Racing for Determination of Montreal, Que., the mare won three straight races in mid-level conditions from late August to early September, defeating strong male rivals in each start. She added another victory in October with a 1:52.3 clocking, her seasonal mark.
The daughter of Greenshoe-Emmylou Who ended her campaign with a showcase of her typical late kick, coming home in :26.4 to finish a sharp fourth in the Breeders Crown Mares Open. She tallied four wins and two place finishes with $118,475 in earnings from 13 starts.
“She's a talented mare,” said Louis-Philippe Roy, who drove her in six starts. “Maybe a bit below the top Grand Circuit mares, but if she would have just raced at Mohawk, she would have been dominant against mares there. That's not what Determination is looking for; they look to perform on the Grand Circuit. Maybe a step behind the top mares in there, but she was part of it.”
This year marks the 37th edition of the O’Brien Awards, named in honour of the late Joe O’Brien, an outstanding horseman and Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee. The winners will be announced at the O’Brien Awards Gala on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026 at the J-AAR Expo Centre at Western Fair District in London, Ont.
(Standardbred Canada, photos courtesy of New Image Media and Lisa Photo)