Three-year-old pacing filly Scarlett Hanover defended her Super Final title at Woodbine Mohawk Park, rallying off cover and sprinting away to win the $225,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series championship by open lengths.
Yannick Gingras, who drove Scarlett Hanover for a handful of stakes wins during her freshman campaign, was reunited with the Bettors Delight-Sammys Magic Girl filly on Saturday night as she took a new mark of 1:50.4 for trainer Ashleigh Hensley.
"She's beautiful to drive," said Gingras after the victory. "She didn't get a whole lot bigger from last year to this year, but she increased in speed. Her manners are what makes her so nice. You can do whatever you want with her and she gets the job done."
Nightlife Seelster (Louis-Philippe Roy) blasted across the track from the outermost post 10 into the first turn with Dabarndawgswatchin (Jody Jamieson) and Jody (Ed Hensley) rushing by -- the former taking control and the latter taking a two-hole tuck at the :27.1 mark.
Dabarndawgswatchin continued to lead the way to the half in :55.3 and three-quarters in 1:23.2 with Voelz Delight (Sylvain Filion) advancing first-up from fourth at the midway mark and the favoured Jugette champion Scarlett Hanover following her cover. Those two fillies began to close in on the pacesetter off the turn, with Scarlett Hanover drawing off by five lengths at the end. Bet On Becky (James MacDonald) closed from the outer flow to steal the runner-up honours from Voelz Delight.
"I thought she was the horse to beat but she kind of needs a trip," said Gingras. "I don't think the front or first-up, I'm not sure. She was so good, she probably would have done it, but before the race I was hoping to get her a nice two-hole or second-over and it worked out perfectly."
The Hanover Shoe Farms-bred filly has won six of her 13 sophomore starts for owners Burke Racing Stable, Frank Baldachino, Jandt Silva Purnel & Libb, and Weaver Bruscemi. She now has a dozen wins in her career from 27 starts, with earnings climbing to $876,075.
Scarlett Hanover was the odds-on favourite and paid $4.30 to win.
Be sure to check out the rest of the recaps in the 2021 Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final News Centre.