The eliminations for the 11th annual $100,000 Dream of Glory Trot were full of surprises on Saturday night at Hanover Raceway.
Trainer John Bax of Peterborough, Ont. wouldn’t have had it any other way. He won both eliminations in which he had a hopeful.
In the fourth race, Summer Indian and driver Steve Byron had the race go their way from the outset after a cluster of horses had troubles getting away from the starting gate. The three-year-old Majestic Son gelding wired his competition, leading by open lengths through fractions of :28.1, :58.1, 1:27.1 and 1:57.1. The mark was just a fifth of a second off the three-year-old trot record of 1:57, held by Abbey Road C and fellow 2012 Dream Of Glory competitor The Golden Child.
After the race, Bax said his sophomore star “handled the track very well. This is the best surface in Ontario and he had the race his way.”
Bax was the trainer of 2009 Dream Of Glory champion Agusto.
On what brings him back to the event each year, Bax said, “The people and the atmosphere bring me back. It reminds you of the way it was.”
A large crowd was on hand and applauded Summer Indian as he charged down the stretch to victory, and again for Bax after his next elimination win.
Majic Trend was the second winner from the Bax stable as the lone filly in the Dream Of Glory managed to catch a pace-setting Northern Kingdom at the wire to finish in a dead-heat for the win.
Driven by Byron, Kadabra filly Majic Trend nabbed her share of the win, her third lifetime victory in 10 starts. Northern Kingdom finished in the tie for the dead-heat, and set the pace for the 1:58.2 mile with Ross Battin in the bike for trainer Jason Libby. Battin, a three-time Dream Of Glory winning driver, was all smiles in the winner’s circle after the race. The three-year-old Kabadbra-sired gelding now has four career wins, and improved his lifetime mark to 1:58.2 from 1:59.
Majic Trend's mile established a new track record for three-year-old trotting fillies, lowering Armbro Amaze's mark by three-fifths of a second.
In the final division, The Golden Child was the best by far for trainer and driver Mark Etsell, formerly of Hanover, Ont. The three-year old gelded son of Striking Sahbra shot to the front from the inside rail position and engineered a perfectly rated trip over fractions of :28.4, 1:00.3 and 1:28.3, before storming home in :28.3 to win in 1:57.1, just a fraction off his track record-tying mark set on July 12.
After the race, Etsell said he was relieved his horse overcame some injury problems and managed the victory easily.
“He lost a part of his foot basically, and we weren’t real sure how he’d be tonight, but he had it pretty easy and it worked out tonight,” he said.
The post position draw was done in front of the crowd after race 10. The post positions for the $100,000 final are as follows:
1. Northern Kingdom
2. Summer Indian
3. Oaklea Umpire
4. Majic Trend
5. Tymal Oh So Nice
6. The Golden Child
7. Hero Of My Dreams
8. Warrawee Nimby
AE1. Oaklea Uptown
AE2. Ballykeel Ulysses
Dream of Glory final day starts with a barbeque and “The Crippled Ducks” will perform on the raceway flat roof at 6 p.m. Tara Oaks Carriage will be at Hanover with Percheron horse-driven carriage rides for fans in between the races, and then provided the Town Fire Ban is lifted there will be a huge BEM fireworks display after the races. If the fire ban is not lifted, the fireworks will be moved to September 1. A final decision will be made by the Fire Chief on August 1.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Hanover Raceway.
(With files from Hanover Raceway)