Reigning older male pacing champion Ervin Hanover served notice he is back for more with a powerhouse performance in the $100,000 Mohawk Gold Cup Invitational Pace (Grade 3) contested during the North America Cup undercard on Saturday, June 13 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Dexter Dunn picked up his third graded stakes win on the action-packed Cup card as he guided the David Menary trainee to a 1:48.2 victory, catching pacesetter Lou Hill in the final strides.

Lou Hill (Doug McNair) had pocketed Bythemissal (Yannick Gingras) through a sizzling :25.4 first quarter and kept on rolling to the half in :54.2 with Ervin Hanover parked from post nine. Dunn pressed forward with the even-money favourite and was stacked third-over behind Calicojack Hanover (Bob McClure) and Prince Hal Hanover (Todd McCarthy) down the backstretch. 

Leading the outer flow, Prince Hal Hanover went head-to-head with Lou Hill as they raced by three-quarters in 1:21.2 while Calicojack Hanover and Ervin Hanover fanned wide entering the stretch. They all chased Lou Hill down the lane with Ervin Hanover fastest of all on the far outside, closing in :26.1 to prevail by half a length. Prince Hal Hanover edged out Calicojack Hanover for third with Bythemissal fourth.

"I knew he was gong to have to work hard to get there [from post nine], probably race from off the pace, there's so much speed. But we ended up where we wanted to be," commented Menary after the race.

Menary earned his second straight win in the Mohawk Gold Cup as Ervin Hanover followed up on stablemate Brue Hanover's score last year. Ervin Hanover finished fourth at 14-1 in that race before his late-season surge of success capped by a Breeders Crown victory in a Canadian record 1:46.2.

Ervin Hanover is off to a perfect start in 2026 with a pair of wins and $70,000 earned bringing his lifetime bankroll to $1.75 million.

"He's just bigger and stronger than ever. He's a little studier, a little cockier," said Menary. "Last year, we were maybe travelling a little bit too much too early. We're happy to start off at home. We're getting ready to go on the road now."

Bred by Hanover Shoe Farms, the Captaintreacherous-Eloquent Grace six-year-old is owned by Pollack Racing of Venetia, Pennsylvania.

Ervin Hanover paid $4.10 to win as the even-money favourite.

To view Saturday's harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.

(Standardbred Canada)