Mirage Hanover posted a blowout victory while McCrunch rallied in time to grab the win in their respective $285,135 divisions of the Tattersalls Pace, sponsored by Cameo Hills Farm, on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 6 at The Red Mile.
Mirage Hanover, sent off as the 4-5 favourite, bolted from a pocket ride and scurried away to a 1:46.3 victory in the first division of the Tattersalls Pace becoming the fastest Canadian-sired sophomore pacer and coming within two-fifths of a second of the divisional world record.
Driver Dexter Dunn sent the Little Brown Jug runner-up Mirage Hanover forward and landed on the pylons to the turn, but yielded command to Legendary Hanover (James MacDonald) as he fired out of post seven to lead the field by a :26.1 first quarter. Legendary Hanover coasted up the backstretch uncontested to a :53.4 half, but started feeling pressure around the final turn with Better Is Nice (Andy McCarthy) plugging forward on the rim and Mirage Hanover antsy to move from the pocket. Dunn fed Mirage Hanover racetrack off three-quarters in 1:20.2 and darted by Legendary Hanover into the stretch. Mirage Hanover pulled clear of his competition through the lane to cross the beam 3-1/2 lengths better than Better Is Nice chasing in second. Captains Quarters (Yannick Gingras) finished third with Number Cruncher (Scott Zeron) closing from last for fourth over Legendary Hanover.
“He’s such an honest, classy horse – two back-to-back performances in the Jug and was great today,” said Dunn after the race. “We had to use him a little bit early, but we got the right helmet after that. The pace was pretty hot and he was travelling so good coming off the last turn that, when I pulled him, he really went down great.”
Jake Leamon trains Mirage Hanover, a colt by Bettors Delight out of Mayhem Seelster, for owner Marvin Rounick of Narberth, Pennsylvania. Mirage Hanover earned his eighth win from 24 starts and now has earnings totalling $770,647. He paid $3.82 to win.
McCrunch emerged from a first-turn shuffle to strike the winning blow at the end of a 1:48.2 mile in the second Tattersalls division.
Leaving from the pylon post in rein to Andy McCarthy, McCrunch moved forward but found himself fourth as 4-5 favourite Women Layer (Todd McCarthy) took the lead from Boston Rocks (Tim Tetrick) to a :27.1 first quarter with Nuclear (Dexter Dunn) on the move to the outside. Nuclear then grabbed the helm from Women Layer in the backside and clocked a :54 half while Tetrick waited and then committed to moving first-over with Boston Rocks into the final turn. McCrunch perched onto the cover and loomed three-wide spinning off three-quarters in 1:21.4 to mount a challenge against Nuclear in the stretch drive. McCrunch gathered steam to the center of the track and surged forward while holding off Women Layer skimming the pylons to win by 1-1/4 lengths with Nuclear left in third.
“It’s so much fun, especially for my partners – that’s what makes it so much fun,” said Ohio's Joe Sbrocco, who co-owns the Captain Crunch-McGibsons colt with 3 Brothers Stables, Caviart Farms and JAF Racing. “Johnny Fodera [co-owner] couldn’t make it [today], but I got him on the phone – he didn’t know what to say; he was screaming at me that we won.”
Nancy Takter trains the colt who went unraced as a two-year-old and is now a winner of seven races from 17 starts and $328,421 in purses. McCrunch paid $10.70 to win.
Favourites My Girl EJ and Rocket Deo both delivered power-packed performances to take their respective $157,432 divisions of the Glen Garnsey Memorial, sponsored by Diamond Creek Farm.
My Girl EJ grabbed the lead after the quarter and exerted authority over her peers to post a 1:48.1 victory in the faster division of the Glen Garnsey Memorial.
Leaving from the pylon post, driver Dexter Dunn got underway with My Girl EJ out of third moving for a :26.4 first quarter and took over the lead from Direction (Todd McCarthy) in the backstretch. My Girl EJ cruised to a :54.2 half and by three-quarters in 1:22.2 before accelerating for the finish. Dunn kept My Girl EJ to task in the lane as Direction mounted a futile bid from the pocket to settle for second, beaten 1-1/4 lengths, while Sweet Gal (Andy McCarthy) rallied from near last for third.
A Pennsylvania champion filly by Sweet Lou out of Lucys Pearl, My Girl EJ competes for Pennsylvania's Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi, Ron Burke and Florida's Elizabeth Novak. Ron Burke trains the 12-time winner from 27 starts with more than $1.3 million earned. My Girl EJ paid $2.50 to win.
Rocket Deo jetted to a pillar-to-post victory in the other division of the Glen Garnsey Memorial, timed in 1:48.3.
Driver Andy McCarthy sent Rocket Deo to the top before a :26.4 first quarter and kept her foes in line on the approach to a :55.3 half. Disney (Todd McCarthy) floated off the pylons from fourth and flushed cover from Soft Shot (David Miller) moving for the final turn all while Rocket Deo remained strong on the controls to three-quarters in 1:23. Soft Shot folded off the turn and the backfield gave chase as Rocket Deo muscled to the finish to win by 3-3/4 lengths over pocket-sitter Canigetalouploup (Yannick Gingras) in second and Disney in third.
Brett Pelling trains Rocket Deo, a Captaintreacherous-Rocklamation filly, for owners Morrison Racing Stables of Indiana, Pennsylvania and John Fielding of Scarborough, Ont. Rocket Deo has earned 10 of her 11 wins this season and the bulk of her $595,069 bankroll, which she has amassed from a total of 18 starts.
Coming off a Bluegrass Stakes victory last weekend at The Red Mile, Rocket Deo paid $3.18 to win.
(With files from The Red Mile; Photo, clockwise from top left: Tattersalls winners Mirage Hanover & McCrunch and Glen Garnsey winners My Girl EJ & Rocket Deo)