The C$320,000 G1 Roses Are Red final this Saturday at Woodbine Mohawk Park was supposed to be the spot where former Horse of the Year Twin B Joe Fresh returned to the pinnacle of the Open Mare division. If not her, there was always stablemate Miki And Minnie, last year's top 3-year-old filly pacer that seemed only a few short steps from reaching the pinnacle as a 4-year-old this year. Instead, what has become quite apparent is a sleeper of sorts has emerged during the first half of 2026 that has already met and defeated both in the span of just two races. Louies Girl N is a Down Under product that, due to an unheralded pedigree and a lack of size, hardly seemed destined to ever meet those two mares in any race, let alone dominate them in two straight races. Trainer Per Engblom had nothing to do with bringing Louies Girl N to North America, and he took to training her last year with modest aspirations. "I thought with her size she'd be a horse that we could work the classes with at Yonkers," said Engblom of the now 6-year-old mare that has rapidly risen in the ranks. "There wasn't much to talk about training her down, and it wasn't until her first qualifier that she showed us something." In that qualifier last August at Yonkers, Jason Bartlett sat third through much of the mile, and Louies Girl N showed an effortless burst of speed, pacing home in 27 2/5 on the end of a 1:54 mile. Engblom would get the opportunity to utilize the Yonkers condition sheet to perfection and by November Louies Girl N had reached Invitational status, taking the $35,000 event in 1:53 2/5 for her sixth straight win without defeat. ► READ INSIDER STAKES SELECTIONS & ANALYSIS It was clear in late 2025 that Louies Girl N was better than an overnight horse but just how much better? Engblom would make her eligible to the McIntyre Series (nee Blue Chip Matchmaker) at Yonkers and then stake her to other races, including Saturday's Roses Are Red. "I just looked at the mare division back in February to see if we could give her a chance," said Engblom. "I knew that Sylvia Hanover was retired, that Twin B Joe Fresh was coming back from an injury and that Miki And Minnie was turning 4, so the division was going to look different." Still, nominating to major races and entering them are two separate things, and there was always the question of whether due to her size, or lack thereof, if Louies Girl N could compete against bigger and stronger horses on the mile track. "She's extremely quick," said Engblom of Louies Girl N. So quick that she was dominant through the McIntyre Series at Yonkers but did suffer a rare defeat, finishing third in the one and one-quarter mile $456,000 final on May 8. "That was her only clunker," said Engblom. "She tied up in that race and I have no idea why." The McIntyre Series has been known to take something out of a horse. Engblom raced Louies Girl N hard, going in all five preliminary legs of the McIntyre on consecutive weeks, and then two weeks later in the final. ► GET FREE PPS & ANALYSIS FOR SATURDAY’S NORTH AMERICA CUP CARD A couple of weeks after the McIntyre, Engblom would have Louies Girl N entered in the $100,000 Betsy Ross at Harrah's Philadelphia, a five-eighths-mile track where she would engage Miki And Minnie for the first time. The two were inseparable in the wagering, with both going off at even-odds, but there was more than four lengths difference at the wire. Louies Girl N scored in a career-best 1:48 4/5 clocking, and Miki And Minnie was third in her 4-year-old debut. Driver Jason Bartlett seemed stunned by the final time of the race, suggesting he didn't know with her small frame that she could go this fast. For Engblom there was something else garnered from the victory. "She paced in 1:48 4/5 and the male division (Joe Auger Memorial) went in 1:49 2/5," said Engblom. "That really showed something." Louies Girl N would win the Betsy Ross on the front-end, but that wasn't going to be the trip she would get in last Saturday's Roses Are Red elimination race. Starting from the pole position with Bartlett in the bike, Louies Girl N got away third with Dexter Dunn placing Twin B Joe Fresh right behind her in the early stages. Last year's Breeders Crown champion Always B Naughty would set a quick 26 1/5 opening fraction but get away with a controlled half of 54 4/5, with Dunn appearing to have Bartlett and Louies Girl N at his mercy with Twin B Joe Fresh on cover. Bartlett and Louies Girl N battled hard with Always B Naughty through a blistering third quarter paced in 26 3/5 and entering the stretch the task was daunting considering the horse to her inside and the one right behind. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter Louies Girl N wasn't done at three-quarters. Instead, she drove right past Always B Naughty into the stretch and quickly separated herself from the rest of the mares, including Twin B Joe Fresh. A 28 2/5 final quarter was enough to secure the win, with the margin of victory a safe half-length. "That wasn't the kind of trip I was looking for," said Engblom, who obviously recognized the danger in moving first-over with quality horses on your back. The Roses Are Red elimination victories granted Louies Girl N and Miki And Minnie solid post positions in the final. "I'm happy with the draw," said Engblom, with his mare landing post three outside Miki And Minnie (post two). On the other side of the fence is Twin B Joe Fresh, who in the open draw landed number nine. With seven wins in nine starts this year, Louies Girl N has moved to the top of the division. Whether she can stay at the top is anyone's guess, but she's already overcome her theoretical size disadvantage and her suspect pedigree to get this far. "Her pedigree hasn't stopped her from being a top horse," said Engblom. "How it will impact her as a broodmare could be different." For now, no one is talking about retirement with Louies Girl N at the top of her game.