Miki And Minnie, sent on her way as the 8-5 choice, rocketed home to take all the spoils in the $320,000 Roses Are Red Stakes (Grade 1) at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday, June 13.
Miki And Minnie, with James MacDonald in the race bike for trainer Chris Ryder, sat an unhurried fifth through a :26 first quarter carved out by Skywalker Sea (Todd McCarthy) in the pacing fixture for fillies and mares, three-year-olds and up. Grit N Grace (Jody Jamieson) tracked in second, followed by The Last Martini (Doug McNair) and Twin B Joe Fresh (Dexter Dunn), winner of the past two editions of the race for the Ryder stable.
Skywalker Sea continued to control the flow, while Twin B Joe Fresh was directed to the outside by Dunn ahead of a half in :54.1. MacDonald and Miki And Minnie were on the move soon after, winding up with a spirited outside rush.
It was Skywalker Sea, at 49-1, still calling the shots through three-quarters in 1:21.1, but a host of rivals came calling, including Miki and Minnie, who stormed to the lead in mid-stretch and then fended off a serious late surge from The Last Martini to post a three-quarter-length win in a new career-best mark of 1:48.1. Louies Girl N (Jason Bartlett), who won her Roses Are Red elimination last Saturday, finished third.
“Like I said to Chris [Ryder] before, you know, when you have a great horse, I find they find good trips on their own,” said MacDonald, who teamed with Miki And Minnie to win their Roses Are Red elimination in 1:50.2. “She's such a special mare and it's just been a privilege to get to sit behind her.
"It's one thing to see them race and do it all the time, but another thing to sit behind them. I knew she probably would kick back on, but I knew I had two good ones chasing her and I was just really happy that she kept digging."
Ryder added, “I didn't have any qualms about her going against the older horses. She's done it before. We laid her off and brought her back, and she's just an easy horse to train. She's just a terrific [mare].”
A four-year-old daughter of Always B Miki out of the Roll With Joe mare Thats The Ticket, Miki And Minnie is 2-0-1 from three starts this season and 21-6-2 from 29 lifetime starts, with nearly $2.9 million in purse earnings for owners and breeders Craig Henderson of Chicago, Illinois, Robert Mondillo of Delaware, Ohio and Lawrence Minowitz of Greenwich, Connecticut. Her new mark was just two-fifths of a second off the Canadian record for older pacing mares.
Miki And Minnie paid $5.30 for the win.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(With files from Woodbine)