Woodbine Mohawk Park: McNair sweeps SBOA finals

Doug McNair drove pacer Twin B Sunkissed and trotter Up And Ready to wins in their respective C$144,825 SBOA finals for 3-year-old fillies on Saturday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

In the event for pacers, Twin B Sunkissed landed on the lead just past the 27 second opening quarter, then yielded to sit in the two-hole behind Voelz Delight (Sylvain Filion). Voelz Delight marched on to a 55 3/5 half and a 1:24 2/5 three-quarters and continued to show the way into the lane, but McNair angled Twin B Sunkissed off the cones in the stretch, and she was able to get up to win by a head in 1:53 4/5. Bet On Becky (James MacDonald) rallied from second-over for a runner-up finish, and Voelz Delight wound up third.

"I know she's been a real nice filly all year long. They've done a good job with her, and she's pretty handy, I think," said McNair. "Obviously she floated off the gate pretty good and got good position. We followed the horse that we kind of thought would take us the distance, and she did."

Richard Moreau trains Twin B Sunkissed, a daughter of Sunshine Beach, for owners Ecurie Csl and 9174 7998 Quebec Inc. This was her fifth career win, and she has now pocketed C$312,755. She was sent off at 6-1 and paid $14.40 to win.

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Midnight Miracle (Scott Young) led early on in the final for trotters, but Up And Ready and McNair pressed on two-wide to the top beyond the 29 1/5 quarter-mile mark. Up And Ready kept command through well-rated stations of 58 2/5 and 1:27 3/5, and a 29 second final quarter polished off her three length win in 1:56 3/5. HP Mama B (Filion) rallied from ninth to second in the back-half of the mile, and Midnight Miracle held third.

"She's been just getting real good near the end of the year here. We had a little bit of money on the line, and she got to gather it all up. I was happy for all the connections," remarked McNair. "She was an expensive yearling, so she is obviously bred to the nines. She looks the part and she trots the part. With those kinds of horses, a lot of them are bound to get better, and she's just been getting better and better every start.

"That was her last start tonight. I guess she's going to the breeding shed, so it's a good way to end."

A daughter of Kadabra, Up And Ready is trained by John Bax for owners Al Libfeld, Marvin and Lynn Katz, and Sam Goldband. She has compiled a record of 4-7-7 from 24 career starts, and she has earned C$552,434. She was the favorite and returned $3.40 to win.