Absolution has been knocking at the door while facing the top distaffers at Woodbine Mohawk Park this year and the Jack Moiseyev trainee exploded with late pace to get the job done on Friday, March 20, winning the $30,000 Fillies & Mares Open 2.
With the streaking Mares Open winner Angostura Hanover sitting this week out, her recent reinsman, Bob McClure, picked up the catch-drive on Absolution, who had hit the board in all six of her starts this season and lined up from post four in Friday's full field of 10.
The three outside starters fired off the gate with Sunshine Magic (Jonathan Drury) from the 10-hole clearing Style For A Mile (Daryl Thiessen) past the :26.3 quarter mark before So Much More (Doug McNair) looped them both down the backside and fronted the field to the half in :56.2.
Meanwhile, Absolution was among the trailing trio as she slide into the outer flow primed for her late rally while Century Jamila (Louis-Philippe Roy), who got away fourth, challenged the leader first-up through three-quarters in 1:25.1. So Much More rebuffed that rival into the stretch but the closers were coming.
Lets N Joy N (James MacDonald), the 1-2 favourite with her perfect six-race seasonal streak on the line, kicked into action from second-over with Absolution rallying from the backfield and Caviar N Crackers closing widest of all from behind. The race was on between those three mares with Absolution emerging in between to steal the glory in a :26.1 sprint to the wire, winning by three-quarters of a length in 1:52.2. Lets N Joy N settled for second and Caviar N Crackers took third.
A homebred five-year-old daughter of McWicked out of Bet Ya, Absolution now boasts a dozen career wins and nearly $280,000 in earnings for owners Joanne Colville of Moffat, Ont., and Nancy MacNevin of Essex, Ont.
Absolution paid $10.30 to win as the 4-1 second choice.
McClure also won on Friday with season-debuting Eurobank Hanover, the four-year-old full brother to 2025 O'Brien Award winner Emoji Hanover, in 1:55.3. The Luc Blais trainee is eligible to this year's Maple Leaf Trot.
Friday's card included the second leg of a Pop-Up Series for trotters that started for a purse of $9,000 or less in 2026 and winners over $50,000 in 2025 ineligible. James MacDonald swept the pair of $14,000 divisions with The Fixer ($6) winning in 1:57.1 for trainer David Frey and Muscle Fashion ($25.70) upsetting in 1:56 flat for conditioner Katie Graham.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(Standardbred Canada)