Woodbine Mohawk Park: Twin B Joe Fresh betters Sylvia Hanover in Roses Are Red

Twin B Joe Fresh took command past the half and held sway over rival Sylvia Hanover to the finish to win Saturday night's C$305,000 Roses Are Red Stakes final for older pacing mares at Woodbine Mohawk Park in 1:48 flat.

Tells On A Roll (Travis Cullen) blasted out to cut the 26 2/5 quarter, but she would be fourth by the time the 54 2/5 half went on the board as she was passed by Silver Label (Scott Zeron), Always B Naughty (Louis Roy, and finally Twin B Joe Fresh (Dexter Dunn), who cleared and went back down to the pylosn in front of Always B Naughty. When Twin B Joe Fresh cleared, that left Sylvia Hanover (Bob McClure) to take up the chase from first-over out of fifth.

As she often does, Sylvia Hanover didn't make a lot of forward progress on the rim, and that meant Twin B Joe Fresh was clear at three-quarters in 1:21 2/5 and into the lane. Last year, Sylvia Hanover was still often able to track down Twin B Joe Fresh in similar positions, but that wasn't the case tonight, as Twin B Joe Fresh remained clear and won by a length and a quarter. Sylvia Hanover did close ground in the lane but had to settle for second and Always B Naughty wound up third. Tells On A Roll and Silver Label completed the top five.

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"She felt great. We obviously got a good draw with her winning the elimination last week, and she's such an easy mare to drive, you really can do whatever you want," said Dunn. "We just got away in a good spot, and when Sylvia Hanover got on my back, I thought well, I'll follow Louis to the front. I didn't want to give Sylvia Hanover a tow-up, she's a great mare. She just felt great. She cruised up the lane pretty strong tonight."

Dunn also co-owns Twin B Joe Fresh, a 4-year-old Roll With Joe mare, with trainer Chris Ryder and their partners Peter Trebotica and Barry Spak. She is now a 22-time winner from 31 appearances, has earned C$1,698,923 and paid $3.10 to win as the 1-2 choice.

"The horse does the talking. She's just a powerhouse. She's got natural speed, and she can carry it. I'm just lucky to have her - came across her and got her - all credit goes to her," remarked Ryder. "She's not a difficult horse to handle or to train. She's just got the goods. I can't take the credit. It's all her."