Trainer Dave Menary's stable is off to a hot start in 2025 with a pair of the top pacing mares in Canadian harness racing dominating the $36,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred Pace at Woodbine Mohawk Park once again on Friday, April 4, led by the streaking Century Jamila.
Driver Louis-Philippe Roy worked out a perfect pocket trip with Century Jamila behind the mare's favoured stablemate, Blue Pacific, and rallied by in the stretch for her fifth straight victory and a new season's mark of 1:51.4.
Blue Pacific, who had led the field of a half dozen distaffers through fractions of :27.2, :57.1 and 1:25 in rein to Doug McNair, fought back against late inside closer Glenboro and Travis Cullen approaching the wire to complete a 1-2 finish for Menary.
The Menary mares have won a combined five editions of Mohawk's Mares Preferred, with Century Jamila winning three straight since taking the baton from her stablemate on March 7. A :26.3 final quarter put her 1-1/4 lengths on top at the end of Friday's mile and she paid $6.40 to win as the 2-1 second choice.
Century Jamila is six-for-10 this year and now leads all pacing mares for earnings in the nation with $93,320 banked in purses. The five-year-old daughter of Bettors Delight out of Exotic Pleasure is owned by Pollack Racing of Venetia, Pennsylvania. The former Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots champion went over the $300,000 mark in lifetime earnings with her 17th career win in 62 starts.
Kyle Fellows is also enjoying a successful start to the season and led all trainers on Friday's 10-race card with three winners.
The first victory of the night for Fellows was courtesy of three-year-old pacing filly Superior Delight ($8.70), who earned her third win in a row and lowered her lifetime mark to 1:54.3 after overcoming a post 10 start with Doug McNair catch-driving. Fellows swept the late Daily Double with a pair of recent newcomers to his stable, four-year-old pacing gelding On Time Delivery ($8.90), also driven by McNair, and the claimed four-year-old pacing mare Chickabell ($3.10), with James MacDonald in the bike.
The 37-year-old Rockwood, Ont. horseman, who trained winners of 144 races and more than $2.6 million in earnings during a career year in 2024, has won 25 races so far this year and ranks sixth for wins among Canadian trainers.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(Standardbred Canada)