With the 2008 O'Brien Awards just days away, the SC website will shine the spotlight on the finalists in each O'Brien division
.
Today we profile the aged pacing mare division.
MY LITTLE DRAGON - My Little Dragon regained her world-class form this season and put together a dominant campaign that included 10 wins and more than $830,000 in purse winnings for her connections.
The strapping daughter of Dragon Again - My Little Pretty hit the racetrack in early February and won a $40,000 leg of the Cape & Cutter Series at The Meadowlands for her first win of the year.
After posting a win in a $50,000 leg of the Overbid Series at The Big M in March, she scored her first major victory of the season in an $85,000 leg of the Classic Series at Dover Downs in April.
She would go on to capture another leg of the Classic Series on July 19 at The Meadowlands and then took the $250,000 Final a week later at the same venue.
Other major wins in 2008 included the $90,000 Matriarch at The Meadowlands, the $123,500 Artiscape at Vernon Downs and the $352,815 Breeders Crown at Mohawk Racetrack.
My Little Dragon is one of the richest pacing mares of all time with $2,363,810 banked in her brilliant career.
SOUTHWIND MADONNA - Southwind Madonna became the darling of the WEG circuit in 2008, dominating the top mares in the nation for much of the season.
It took the Camluck mare five races to finally notch her first victory in a Fillies & Mares Preferred event at Woodbine Racetrack in March, but once she got a taste of the winner's circle, she was very difficult to beat.
In total, the Carl MacArthur trained and co-owned daughter of Camluck - My Mystic won seven Preferred or Open events on the WEG circuit, including three straight through late April and early May.
Southwind Madonna also proved on multiple occasions that she could compete with North America's best older pacing mares.
In June, she finished second in her $50,000 Roses Are Red Elimination at Mohawk Racetrack and followed up with another second-place finish, beaten a neck, in the $405,000 Final a week later.
The Carl MacArthur trainee came back on August 22 to capture her Breeders Crown Elimination at Mohawk for driver Lyle MacArthur in a lifetime-best time of 1:49.3. Her nine wins and more than $333,000 in seasonal earnings vaulted her lifetime bankroll to $804,871.