So Much More fought off a pair of fellow O’Brien Award winners in a deep stretch duel to win Friday night’s $36,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred Pace at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Reunited with regular reinsman James MacDonald for Friday’s feature, So Much More left from post six and raced three-wide to the first turn, but took back to third with Dabarndawgswatchin (Jody Jamieson) pushing through between foes to take the lead in a :26.4 quarter over Huntress (Sylvain Filion).
Dabarndawgswatchin continued to lead the field of eight distaffers through middle splits of :55.1 and 1:22.2 while So Much More tipped first-up in the final turn with the popular Nick Gallucci stablemates, Breeders Crown runner-up Silver Label (Doug McNair) and Prohibition Legal (Chris Christoforou), joining the fray from the outer flow as they raced into the stretch. Those three forged ahead of the pacesetter down the lane in a three-way battle of former O’Brien Award winners.
In the end, So Much More prevailed by a neck in 1:49.4 while Prohibition Legal edged out Silver Label for the runner-up honours. Huntress finished second while Dabarndawgswatchin faded to fifth.
Don Beatson trains and co-owns So Much More, who notched her 11th win of the season from 28 starts, with his son Kenn Beatson and grandson Cole England. A career winner of more than $1.5 million, the seven-year-old Big Jim-Ladysai mare now boast 68 victories lifetime.
Sent postward at odds of 9-2, So Much More returned $11.10 to win.
A four-time Friday night winner, MacDonald also swept the opening leg of the Harvest Series with the favourites, Godiva Shadow Girl ($2.80) and Honey Love ($6.30), winning their respective $17,000 divisions. The series is for Ontario-sired three-year-old pacing fillies that were non-winners of $30,000 in 2023 as of Sept. 30.
Trained by Richard Moreau, Raymond Larose’s homebred filly Godiva Shadow Girl swept from third to first after the opening quarter and kept early leader Watch Her Dewitt (Sylvain Filion) and 42-1 first-over pursuer Miss Dew Write (Bob McClure) at bay to win by a neck in 1:54.3. The Shadow Play-Godiva Beachgirl filly equalled her lifetime mark set a week ago while notching her fourth win in 16 outings this year.
Millar Farms’ homebred Honey Love looped early leader Fashion Forward (Anthony Haughan) after the first panel to take control and cruised to victory in 1:55.4 by one length for trainer Mike Bishop. Unraced as a two-year-old, the Big Jim-Mind Over Matter filly is now two-for-four this season. Fashion Forward held on for second over the pylon-skimming Pocahontas De Lac (Austin Sorrie).
(Standardbred Canada)
