With a :54.2 back half, Bulldog Hanover was ruthless to his Ontario Sires Stakes rivals with a crushing victory in the 2020 OSS Super Final for two-year-old pacing colts & geldings.
Lawless Shadow (Bob McClure) sped past Magnum Moon (Scott Coulter) to take the early lead in :27.1. Bettor Sun (Doug McNair) forged first up to take command but that lead was short-lived as Lawless Shadow popped pocket, sensing an overland threat in the form of Bulldog Hanover (Jody Jamieson). Lawless Shadow cleared but then was quickly pushed into the pocket by a hard-charging Bulldog Hanover, who hit the half on top in :56. Candy Trader (Sylvain Filion) tried his luck first up heading to the third station but Bulldog Hanover showed no apparent sweet tooth, rebuffing that challenge through a 1:23.2 third quarter. Turning for home, Bulldog Hanover showed his foes another gear and hit the wire nine lengths the best in a lifetime best 1:50.2 performance. Lawless Shadow held second with Magnum Moon completing the triactor.
"I was really impressed and happy with him. We go to the yearling sales every year and we're searching for this type of horse and you're training him down hoping that he'll get to this level," said the colt's trainer and owner Jack Darling. "And then when you see them do it, it just doesn't get any better than this for us trainers...I'm really looking forward to next year with this colt."
Bulldog Hanover (Shadow Play - Bjs Squall) boasts a 4-1-0 summary from six freshman starts with the win lifting his rookie bankroll to $248,850.
This race was one of eight Ontario Sires Stakes Super Finals contested on Saturday, Oct. 17. Check out the rest of the recaps in the OSS Super Final News Centre.