The Friday (May 19) qualifying session at Woodbine Mohawk Park featured a trio of returning O'Brien Award winners and a seasonally-debuting star that made national headlines this time one year ago.
Sylvia Hanover's result was likely the desired one for her connections this morning but the trip and travel to get to the wire first wasn't ideal.
Bob McClure positioned the award winner forwardly through a :29.1 opener, then yielded to Chedda Chedda (Louis-Philippe Roy) just after that marker and sat the pocket through a :59.1 half. McClure right-lined Sylvia Hanover heading to the third station but the filly rolled offstride then reset. With the third quarter reached in 1:27.4, Sylvia Hanover focused on her work and charged home in :26.1 for the 1:54.1 decision over Bettors Punch (Jonathan Drury).
Sylvia Hanover (Always B Miki - Shyaway) is trained by Shawn Steacy for Tony Infilise's Hudson Standardbred stable. The filly won wight of nine starts in 2022, banked $903,300 and earned divisional honours in both Canada and the U.S.
Canadian record holder Linedrive Hanover did what few horses could accomplish in 2022, and that's defeat 2022 Horse of the Year and 2023 Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Famer Bulldog Hanover. His win over the world's fastest pacer came just less than a year ago on May 22, 2022 in the Charles Juravinski Memorial Cup at Flammboro Downs.
Returning to action for the first time since last July, Linedrive Hanover sat through a :29.3 opening quarter for James MacDonald in his Friday qualifier, moved to the top down the backside and turned on the jets from there. After middle panels of :58.3 and 1:25.4, Linedrive Hanover paced home in :27.2 for the unchallenged 1:53.1 score over possible free-for-all rival Poseidon Seelster (McClure).
Tony Beaton trains Linedrive Hanover (Betting Line - Lillian Hanover) for West Wins Stable of Wellington, Fl., McKinlay & Fielding of Toronto and Mac Nichol of Burlington, Ont. Now five, the pacer boasts a lifetime mark of 1:49h, taken in that Canadian record effort at Flamboro, with a 11-3-2 summary from 18 starts and $366,500 in earnings.
Gaines Hanover just missed in his three-year-old debut a week ago, but the 2022 O'Brien Award winner made no mistake in his second sophomore appearance.
Roy positioned the trotter in fourth through a relatively soft :58.4 half and then approached second over by following the cover of Beshear (Tyler Jones) around the far turn. Off a 1:29 third station, Gaines Hanover made ample gains in the stretch with courtesy of a :27.1 closer. He tracked down Beshear and got the wire more than a length in front, tripping the timer in 1:56.3.
Richard Moreau conditions Gaines Hanover (Cantab Hall - Gatka Hanover) for Gestion J Y Blais Inc. of Montreal, Que. The 2022 O'Brien Award winning trotter sports a 4-1-1 summary from eight freshman outings with nearly a half-million dollar bankroll.
The tandem of Roy and Moreau also sent out another 2022 O'Brien Award winning trotter for a winning effort — two-time divisional champion Fashion Frenzie.
Also making his second appearance of the season, Fashion Frenzie was handled more aggressively by Roy this week and did all the work on the front end. White Tiger (Anthony MacDonald) tried to challenge for the front at the half but couldn't clear Fashion Frenzie and made a break before landing on the lead. The distraction didn't affect Fashion Frenzie, who stayed on task and finished his mile in 1:54.3.
Fashion Frenzie (Archangel - Striking Fashion) is owned by Ecurie Francis Richard Inc. Mario Bourgea, Pierre Guillemette and Sylvain Richard of Quebec. The 18-time winner comes into 2023 with a mark of 1:51.2 and $955,931 in earnings.
The full replay of the qualifying session is available below.
For results from the qualifying session, click the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park (Qualifiers).
(Images courtesy New Image Media; clockwise from top left: Sylvia Hanover, Gaines Hanover, Linedrive Hanover and Fashion Frenzie)