Elver Hanover became the sport's fastest freshman male pacer with a 1:48.3 mile to kick off Grand Circuit action at The Red Mile on Saturday (Sept. 28).

Driven by Yannick Gingras for trainer Ron Burke, Elver Hanover sat the pocket in the first $80,950 Bluegrass division of the day behind favoured Catch The Fire through fractions of :27, :54 and 1:21.3 before popping out of the pocket in the stretch and sprinting home through a 27-second final panel to trip the timer in 1:48.3.

“[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.”

A $50,000 Ohio Selected Jug Sale yearling, Elver Hanover (Yankee Cruiser - Edra Hanover) is now undefeated in eight career starts to kick off his career for Burke Racing Stable LLC of Fredericktown, Penn., Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky of Hanover, Penn., Jason Melillo of Powell, Ohio and Jandt Silva Purnel & Libby of Delray Beach, Florida. A win ticket returned $6.20.

With the win, Elver Hanover erases the 1:49.2 two-year-old pacing gelding mark of Dragnet Alert and shaves two-fifths of a second off the male mark held by Sweet Lou, Huntsville and Downbytheseaside. The pacer also equals the overall freshman pacing mark set by stablemate Warrawee Ubeaut in 2018.

Captain Barbossa took the $80,950 second division, sponsored by the Stay Hungry Syndicate and Hanover Shoe Farms, by a one-length margin.

A Positive Hanover went forward early and grabbed the lead as they hit the first quarter in :28.1. Captain Barbossa 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 off as the 1-5 favourite, 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.”

Bred by Steiner Stock Farm and trained by Tony Alagna, Captain Barbossa adds a second win from ten starts to his tally, and has now earned more than $90,000 for owners Alagnafrankinthegym Stable of Manalapan, N.J., Robert Leblanc of Austin, Tex. and David Anderson of Aurora, Ont. He 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 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 Roll With JR to the front in a :27 opening clip and was unhurried to a :55.3 half. He then repelled a first-up bid from favourite 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.”

Cullipher co-owns the $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 Bob Brady, Rebecca Brady, Ken 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.

Treacherous Reign overpowered her competition in the $163,100 American Ideal Bluegrass Stakes, sponsored by Brittany Stallion Management, as she ground a first-over trip to win by a length.

Beautyonthebeach was sent forward from post six, but 4-5 favourite Tall Drink Hanover quickly swooped by just after a :26.2 opening quarter. Tall Drink Hanover maintained the lead to the half in :54.1 and three-quarters in 1:22.1 but could do little to resist stablemate Treacherous Reign as the field of 11 turned for home. Driver Dexter Dunn kept the Tony Alagna trainee to task down the lane and held off Beautyonthebeach to stop the clock in 1:49.4. Queen Of The Pride had late pace and moved up for third. Tall Drink Hanover faded and finished seventh.

“A lot of people forget that she did win the Fan Hanover, defeating Warrawee Ubeaut,” Alagna said after the race. “Of course, Warrawee Ubeaut has gotten better over the course of the year, but this is a very nice filly in her own right. The other filly [Tall Drink Hanover] got used pretty good to get to the front, but she definitely didn’t look like she was on her game today. Not to take anything away from this filly; she came first over the hard way at the half and got the job done.”

Treacherous Reign collected her 11th win from 26 starts, and the $50,000 Lexington Selected yearling has now earned more than $700,000 for Alagna Racing, Big Al’s Stables, Let It Ride Stables, and Dana Parham. The daughter of Captaintreacherous, bred by White Birch Farm, paid $12.20 to win.

Grand Circuit action resumes at The Red Mile on Sunday, Sept. 29 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).

(with files from The Red Mile)