Yannick Gingras positioned 2017 Horse of the Year and two-time Armbro Flight winner Hannelore Hanover on the front passing the quarter and advanced easily to win the $250,000 Armbro Flight Stakes for a record third time on Saturday, June 16 in 1:52 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
The six-year-old Swan For All mare took the lead from Emoticon Hanover through a :27 opening quarter. Majestic Presence, parked from the start after attempting to leave from post 8, trotted uncovered moving to the half and matched strides with Emoticon Hanover in the pocket through a :56.1 clocking.
Hannelore Hanover maintained a length-and-a-quarter advantage on Emoticon Hanover and Majestic Presence rounding the final turn. Dream Together, from second over, began to fan wide heading to three quarters while Checkmate Time went off stride third over, providing a seam for Caprice Hill to angle through from the rail. Following a 1:24.3 third-quarter, Hannelore Hanover accelerated clear of Emoticon Hanover drifting off the rail in pursuit second while Caprice Hill rallied through the center of the track to take third from Dream Together.
Owned by Burke Racing Stables, Weaver Bruscemi and Jerry and Theresa Silva Stables, Hannelore Hanover remains undefeated in four starts this season and in total has won 40 races in 62 starts, amassing $2,894,632. Yannick Gingras piloted the mare from High Sobriety for trainer Ron Burke. She paid $2.20 to win.
"There was an anxious moment for me," Yannick Gingras said after the race. "[Hannelore Hanover] was not a big fan of the new board they have halfway down the stretch and I guess warming up she was scared a bit. I scored her down in front of it and again she wasn't a fan, so like in the stretch that's the only place I thought she might be [anxious]. She was wide and looking at it, but she's just a professional.
"Right now she couldn't be any better. Last year (at this time), she was a little sore, [but now] she's sound; she's happy. I haven't even pulled the plugs on her the last couple of weeks - she's doing it on her own. The more easy of a mile we can put on her now, we have some big races later on and maybe even some big plans over the winter."
The Armbro Flight was part of a stakes-packed card of harness racing at Woodbine Mohawk Park on 2018 Pepsi North America Cup night. Check out the rest of the recaps in the 2018 North America Cup News Centre.