MILTON, Ont., Oct. 12, 2024 – Lil Sweet finished a head short of division leader Monalishi Sept. 30 in the final Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Leg for freshman filly trotters. On Saturday night, however, Doug McNair and the 3-1 second choice turned the tables in deep stretch, surging past the favourite to claim victory in the $300,000 Gold Super Final at Woodbine Mohawk Park. The duo matched Bee A Magician’s stakes record 1:53.4 clocking in the win.
McNair entered the night’s second race, the first of eight Gold Series Super Finals events, riding a hot streak. Friday night he steered six winners on the program, and wasted little time returning to the winner’s circle. The regular pilot for the David Menary-trained filly, he left from Post 6 with Lil Sweet as soon as the gate folded, moving to the front and leading the field through a :27.3 opening panel.
As McNair set the tempo with a geared-down 30-second quarter, James Macdonald pulled on the right line and brushed Monalishi from fourth to the lead, taking command after the half and led the group to three quarters in 1:25.3.
“My filly, when we moved past the quarter she just hesitated a bit on the front. I haven’t raced her on the front all year. I didn’t want to take any chances and have her pull up, I was looking for James, that’s for sure,” McNair explained.
McNair asked his filly in the lane, angling away from the pylons and dashing to the wire to collect her second seasonal score in 10 attempts. Monalishi settled for second, while 63-1 Exquisite Taste, driven by Louis-Philipe Roy, rounded out the trifecta. Lil Sweet returned $8.40 to win.
“She drew the rail all season long and I said to Dave if she ever gets in the middle of the gate where we can kind of get her off the gate a little bit and sit her up close, I think she’ll kick home good for us,” said McNair. “We got the right helmet there just past the half or five-eighths, and she did the rest from there.”
Added Menary in the winner’s circle: “I didn’t want to jinx anything, but that’s exactly how I thought it would go. I was hoping that James would come. We chased her pretty hard last week, and we were ready to start chasing her sooner this week.”
Bred by Windsong Stable, Lil Sweet is from the first crop of Green Manalishi S out of the Credit Winner mare Sweetspellosuccess. The freshman sold for $35,000 at Harrisburg, purchased by Eric Good. Fifth in points entering this evening, the victory pushed her seasonal earnings to $249,371.
Menary credited his team for having Lil Sweet primed for a top Super Final performance.
“I have to give my staff a lot of credit. Leanne Silverthorn takes care of her. She does such a great job with her,” he said. “I wasn’t here last week when the filly raced great. I watched the race in Lexington at the sale. It’s a 52-week process to get here. It’s not just this week, it’s the whole year. The staff worked really hard and I want to let everybody know I really appreciate them.”
FEATURED PHOTO: Lil Sweet winning the 2024 OSS Gold Super Final race for two-year-old trotting fillies on Oct. 12, 2024 at Woodbine Mohawk Park (Clive Cohen/New Image Media)
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