After competing against open competition in recent weeks, 2021 O'Brien Award finalist So Much More faced a group of Preferred distaffers on Friday night (Feb. 4) at Woodbine Mohawk Park and romped to her first seasonal score.
A three-time runner-up in January, So Much More delivered as the 1-9 favourite in the five-mare affair.
Driver James MacDonald gave So Much More her cue after getting away third through a :28.1 opening quarter and cleared to command just past the :56.4 midway mark. She remained clear on top past three-quarters in 1:24.4 and cruised to her 42nd career victory in 1:53.
So Much More paid $2.30 to win. Swift Ally (Trevor Henry) followed in second after leading early on while Trafalgar (Doug McNair) advanced first-up and edged out Snow Shark (Travis Cullen) and Majestic Virgin (Jonathan Drury) for third.
Owned by trainer Don Beatson, Kenneth Beatson and Cole England, the six-year-old daughter of Big Jim has earned $44,380 through her first five starts of 2022. The lion's share of the $32,000 purse boosted her career bankroll to $844,008.
So Much More is the defending O'Brien Award champion as Canada's Older Pacing Mare of the Year and faces fellow finalist Lyons Sentinel in the category after another successful campaign in 2021 that included 10 wins and just over a quarter of a million dollars in purse earnings. The award winners will be announced this Sunday, Feb. 6 at the Virtual O'Brien Gala on standardbredcanada.ca.
MacDonald, also an O'Brien finalist, ended the night with a driving grand slam. His final victory was courtesy of Kounnis ($4.40) for trainer Carmen Auciello, who swept the last three races on the program. Auciello's other winners were Western Wish ($7.10), driven by Louis-Philippe Roy, and Better Be Donna N ($7.70), with Jonathan Drury in the bike.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.