Galleria Hanover took advantage of an inside draw and miscue by favourite Captain Cowgirl and delivered Ronnie Wrenn Jr.’s first Grand Circuit win at MGM Northfield Park in Saturday night's (Oct. 15) $100,000 Courageous Lady, a race for three-year-old pacing fillies.
Mark MacDonald left alertly with Valar Dohaeris. The pair dueled until the mid-point of the first quarter when MacDonald decided to take a hole in the pocket.
"I wanted to push hard leaving the gate," said Wrenn Jr. after the race.
Exiting the first turn, Captain Cowgirl tried to make a move from third but broke stride. Galleria Hanover led by 1-3/4 lengths past the opening quarter of :27.3. Coming to the half, Lookatmyrapsheet flushed Cape Cod Hanover out of the three-hole to challenge the leader. Galleria Hanover, under confident handling, got to the half in a leisurely :56.1.
Moving past the five-eighths pole, Cape Cod Hanover moved within three-quarters of a length of the leader but, approaching three-quarters, Wrenn shook the lines at Galleria Hanover and she kicked clear to a 1-3/4-length lead past three-quarters in 1:23.2. Through the stretch, Galleria Hanover edged away to win by 5-3/4 lengths in 1:50.4 over Valar Dohaeris, who got a perfect trip in the pocket. Give Me This Dance finished third, and a hard-closing Sweet Treasure took fourth.
"She [Galleria Hanover] raced well tonight; when Captain Cowgirl broke, the race completely changed," said Wrenn Jr.
It was the fifth win of Galleria Hanover’s career of 28 starts for trainer Ron Burke and owners W. J. Donovan, Purnell & Libby, and Joe Sbrocco.
The Late Pick-4 was not solved on Saturday (Oct. 15) night, so there will be a carryover of $8,830 heading into Sunday's (Oct. 16) early Pick 4. Beginning in Race 2, the Early Pick 4 will feature a guaranteed pool of $30,000.
Live racing at MGM Northfield Park returns on Sunday (Oct. 16) with a first post of 6 p.m. (EDT).
(Northfield Park)