Moonlit Promise returns with Sweet Briar Too S. win

Moonlit Promise made a triumphant return to the races on Sept. 17 at Woodbine with a three-quarter length victory in the $100,000 Sweet Briar S. at 6 1/2-furlongs.

The 4-year-old Malibu Moon filly had been away from the races since last November, but didn’t miss a beat as she waited near the back of the seven-horse field until her jockey Gary Boulanger gave her cue outside the quarter-pole. Coming up the rail, Moonlit Promise scooted past the field to win smartly in 1:15.66.

“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.”

Trained by Josie Carroll for her owner/breeder Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings Inc., Moonlit Promise is 4-2-0 in seven starts and has earned $191,511. She took Woodbine’s La Lorgnette S. last year. Her dam, Smart Surprise, is a sister to Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) winner Court Vision.