"Caviart Ally is obviously a better mare...but the award is for contribution to Canadian harness racing, and I just felt Exhilarated deserved it."
At the 2018 O'Brien Awards, Older Pacing Mare honours went to the warhorse Exhilarated, who started 44 times from January through December while winning 11 races and $211,000 in purse money. The Carmen Auciello trainee was a regular competitor in the Fillies and Mares Preferred ranks at Woodbine Mohawk Park, and her consistent success on the nation's top circuit was clearly a deciding factor in her O'Brien Award win over fellow finalist Caviart Ally.
"She raced 49 times the year before, so in 2017, 49 starts and in 2018, 44 starts and she'll probably race 40 times this year," said an exhilarated trainer and co-owner Auciello after the awards. "She just loves her job, every morning she's at the gate pawing for food, she wants to get out and go onto the track. Just a super nice mare, a true professional."
With Exhilarated entered tonight (February 9) at Mohawk, Auciello commented on what to expect from his prized pupil in her Saturday start and what's on her plate for the rest of 2019 and beyond in the interview feature available below.
This is the sixth in a series of several post-event video interviews with O'Brien Award finalists, sponsored by Horse Racing Alberta.
On Saturday, Feb. 2, Standardbred Canada announced the winners for the 2018 O’Brien Awards at the 30th edition of the annual O’Brien Awards Black Tie Gala, held at the Hilton Mississauga / Meadowvale hotel in Mississauga, Ont. The O’Brien Awards honour Canada’s best in harness racing over the past season and are named in honour of the late Joe O’Brien, an outstanding horseman and member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. To view the full list of 2018 O'Brien Award winners, click here.