Moonlit Promise made her season’s debut against stakes fillies a winning one in the $100,000 Sweet Briar Too Stakes on Sunday’s undercard at Woodbine Racetrack.
Jockey Gary Boulanger worked out a ground-saving trip aboard the four-year-old Josie Carroll trainee, who left from the outside post seven and was caught at the back on the outside early on. Boulanger then opted for the inside route and Moonlit Promise passed horses along the rail to haul down River Maid and Southern Ring in the 6-1/2 furlong Tapeta sprint for fillies and mares three years old and up.
“She’s a pretty good filly and she broke well,” said Boulanger. “I was just kind of letting her tell me what the pace was – I thought it was pretty hot up there – and biding my time. A couple guys were kind of keeping me wide and no one was wanting to tuck in so at the three and a half pole I said, ‘I gotta go inside and save some ground here if I’m going to run these guys down.’ I dove inside and here she came with a big run. A tremendous filly. Josie’s done a great job getting her ready and her team is a great team. I’m just grateful I get to ride something like this.”