Bernadette was a repeat winner in the $30,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred Pace, holding off longshot Exhilarated by a neck at Woodbine Saturday night.

McNair drove the popular four-year-old Big Jim-Matilda mare for trainer Ron Adams and co-owner David Kryway of Amherstburg, Ont.

Second choice Rock N Roll Xample (Louis-Philippe Roy) fired off the gate first from post six and had the rest of the field lined-up behind her through a :26.1 first quarter before Bernadette accelerated out of fourth to take over command during the second panel.

Exhilarated (Jonathan Drury) then rushed up from the backfield to challenge for the lead as they raced past the half-mile mark in :56. While the front-end battle ensued to three-quarters in 1:24, Rock N Roll Xample broke stride in the pocket spot and dropped out of contention.

Turning for home, Bernadette pulled clear of her challenger, but Drury steered Exhilarated inside and came back on down the lane. However, Bernadette held on to score the victory by a neck in 1:51.3. A forwardly-place P L Hurricane (Rick Zeron) finished third despite being interfered with by the breaker.

Sent postward as the 6-5 favourite after her 1:52 triumph last week, Bernadette returned $4.70 at the betting windows.

She boasts wins in half of her 10 seasonal starts for earnings of $78,350.

(Standardbred Canada)