By Nicholas
Barnsdale, for The Red Mile
LEXINGTON, KY—Elver Hanover
stayed unbeaten when popping pocket to win the $80,950 first division of the
$324,800 Stay Hungry Bluegrass Two-Year-Old Colt Pace—sponsored by the Stay
Hungry Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farms—with a world-record 1:48.3 effort on
Saturday, Sept. 28 at The Red Mile.
Odds-on favorite Catch The Fire
led through a quarter in :27, half in :54 and three-quarters in 1:21.2 before
Elver Hanover popped the pocket on the final turn and swept by to win by
two-and-three-quarter lengths. Put To Right tipped three wide off of the
winner’s cover as the field entered the stretch and passed Catch The Fire for
second.
“[Elver Hanover] felt really
really good in the hole,” winning driver Yannick Gingras said after the race,
“and [Catch The Fire] put up some hot fractions so I was content to sit there.
When I called on him up the stretch, he was still full of pace.”
The son of Yankee Cruiser, bred
by Hanover Shoe Farms, is now eight-for-eight for trainer Ron Burke and his
racing stable, as well as the partnership group of Bridgette Jablonsky, Jason
Melillo, J & T Silva and Purnel & Libby. The victory today brings the
gelding’s earnings above $325,000. He equaled the world record for a pacing
two-year-old, set by stablemate Warrawee Ubeaut last year, and set a new mark
for a two-year-old male.
A win ticket returned $6.20.
Captain Barbosa took the $80,950
second division by a one-length margin.
A Positive Hanover went forward
early and grabbed the lead as they hit the quarter in :28.1. Captain Barbosa
then brushed past on the backside and led every remaining step, hitting the
half in :56.3, three-quarters in 1:24.4 and crossing the line in 1:51.2 under
mild urging from driver Andrew McCarthy. Opportune Hanover slid up the pylons
from the backfield and snatched second from A Positive Hanover. Seeyou At
Thebeach, sent the 1-5 favorite, broke stride while moving into the outer flow
at the five-eighths and finished last.
“Early in the [year] he was
balking at the gate a little bit, and he was out of position, and I had the
same trouble with him,” McCarthy said after the race. “But he’s getting smarter
about that and I can get him a little more forwardly-placed now. He definitely
wants to go to work and do his job; I think it’s more the fact that he’s
getting into the race a little bit now that he’s getting off the gate better.”
The Tony Alagna trainee adds a
second win from ten starts to his tally, and has now earned more than $90,000
for owners Alagnafrankinthegym Stables and Robert J. The Steiner Stock Farm-bred
colt paid $15.30 to win.
Alagna confirmed that the
Breeders Crown is a possibility for the colt.
“We’ll race him back next week in
the Grand Circuit and see how he is,” Alagna said after the race. “If he seems
okay, and we’re still going forward based on what else we’re going to take to
Canada, we’ll take [him into] consideration for the Breeders Crown.”
Cattlewash won in the $80,950
third division after taking command in the second quarter and gliding home.
Esai Hanover floated off the gate
and hit the top through the first fraction in :27.1, but soon yielded command
to Cattlewash. Driver Yannick Gingras managed the tempo from there, bringing
the group of eight to the half in :55.1, three-quarters in 1:23.1 and finished
the job in 1:50.3. Manticore came second over as the backfield got moving in
the third split and rallied for second, two lengths adrift of the victor.
Fortify also came past tired foes, finishing third. Father Nuno challenged
first-over into the final turn but did not bother the eventual winner.
Cattlewash’s earnings now total
just under $150,000 with his fourth win from eight outings for owner-breeder
William Donovan and gave the Burke-Gingras team two wins on the day. He paid
$7.40 to win.
In the $81,950 fourth division,
Roll With JR fended off late challenger Team Best in a wire-to-wire win.
Driver Doug McNair sent the colt
to the front in a :27 opening clip and was unhurried to a :55.3 half. He then
repelled a first-up bid from favorite Chief Mate through three-quarters in
1:23.2 and battled to the wire for a 1:50.4 lifetime-best victory. Team Best
sat in the pocket for most of the mile and had his go in the lane, finishing
second behind a half length. Tell Them Lou charged from the backfield late and
finished third.
“[The horses] relax, and the
track is second-to-none,” winning trainer Jeff Cullipher said of the track
after the race. “This is a really big colt, and he was able to stretch out a
little bit here.”
He co-owns $15,000 yearling
purchase with Tom Pollack. The son of Roll With Joe has now amassed more than
$140,000 in earnings and won three of his nine races. The colt bred by Robert
Brady, Rebecca Brady, Kenneth Jackson and Lisa Jackson paid $10.00 to win.
Cullipher recalled giving Pollack
free reign on making the purchase.
“I was eating a sandwich and I
looked up and he was buying the horse,” he said.
Grand Circuit action resumes at
The Red Mile on Sunday, Sept. 28 with seven total Bluegrass dashes. The
sophomore pacing colts compete in three divisions of the $267,400
Captaintreacherous Bluegrass Stakes while the three-year-old trotting colts
race in two divisions of the $192,200 International Moni Bluegrass Stakes and
the three-year-old trotting fillies race in two divisions of the $218,000 Bar
Hopping Bluegrass Stakes. Racing gets underway with first-race post at 1:00
p.m. (EDT).
