Woodbine Mohawk Park: Monalishi shines in OSS Gold Series

O'Brien Award winner Monalishi posted her first Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series victory of the year, taking the C$140,000 event for sophomore trotting fillies on Friday (June 20) at Woodbine Mohawk Park in 1:52 3/5.

James MacDonald piloted the daughter of Green Manalishi S—Pretty Phylly G into third out of post four in the early going as Exquisite Taste (J.R. Plante) took the early lead through the opening fraction of 27 2/5, followed sharply by Sprite Seelster (Tyler Borth), who left well out of the 10-hole.

Near the half of 56 seconds, Borth made his move with Sprite Seelster and MacDonald followed his cover to the front. Monalishi, the 9-5 favorite, led from there, hitting the three-quarters in 1:24 4/5 and opening up in the lane to win by 2 1/4 lengths. Exquisite Taste was second and Sprite Seelster third. Roxie Seelster and Foxy Amee picked up the final two checks, respectively.

"Ideally, [Monalishi's] best trip isn't on the front, but just the way the race sets up," MacDonald told Woodbine broadcaster John Rallis. "You have to kind of take what the race gives you, and J.R. got away well, and got in between Tyler and I. I thought [Monalishi was] the best horse in the race when she's right, and I wanted to give her the best shot to win.

"Around the last turn, she swelled up. And I would say that was probably as good an effort as I've ever seen her have, other than maybe [last year's] Peaceful Way. That night she was unbelievable, but this is a good sign heading into the middle of her season, and hopefully she has a big year.

"There's nothing better than driving great horses. This is what we grind all winter for to sit behind these great ones, and I'm just a lucky guy get to sit behind quite a few of them."

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Monalishi is trained and owned, in part, by Blake MacIntosh, who shares her ownership with Tim Klemencic.

MacIntosh said he was disappointed with Monalishi's first few starts this year. She was second in the C$136,513 SBOA final on May 17 and fifth in her first C$140,000 Gold Series event on May 26.

"We pulled her blood after her last start and everything was a little low, and she just wasn't sharp," MacIntosh said. "So, we worked on that all for the last couple weeks. I brought her [to Woodbine Mohawk Park] on Tuesday and trained her a big back half in like 55 (seconds), and I knew she was back to herself. I just hoped she'd prove it tonight. She did, obviously."

The mile of 1:52 3/5 was one-fifth of a second off her lifetime-est.

Monalishi, bred by Shmuel Farhi, increased her lifetime bankroll to C$685,879 and her seasonal account to C$123,063. She is now 2-1-0 in four starts in 2025 and 8-3-0 in 14 career outings. The Ontario-sired trotter was a $28,000 purchase from the 2023 Standardbred Horse Sales Company's yearling auction in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and was named Canada's 2-Year-Old Trotting Filly of the Year at the O'Brien Awards.

--press release (Ontario Sires Stakes)--