Auciello Stables' Exhilarated powered off cover down the stretch to catch 8-5 favourite Witch Dali in the $30,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred Pace before the rain rolled in on Friday night (April 27) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Riding a three-race win streak in the Mares Preferred, the Richard Moreau trainee Witch Dali (Doug McNair) swept from third to first ahead of stablemate Ms Mac N Cheese (Louis-Philippe Roy) after a 27-second opening quarter and controlled the pace past the half in :56.1 and three-quarters in 1:24.4. As Witch Dali began to drift out in the stretch, Exhilarated and Jody Jamieson came charging up on the outside after being shuffled to the backfield and collared the favourite at the wire for the 9-1 upset in 1:52.4. Lay Lady Lay (Mike Saftic), the longest shot on the board at 62-1, finished two and a half lengths behind in third.
Trained by Carmen Auciello, the seven-year-old Mach Three-Animated Art mare has won one-third of her 15 seasonal starts. The victory was her 30th lifetime and the lion's share of the purse pushed her bankroll to $469,290.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.