A few weeks off didn’t bother Nippy W Hanover as she was razor-sharp in winning the $41,200 Miss Vera Bars Series final Thursday night at Woodbine Racetrack.
Originally set for two preliminary legs and a final, Mother Nature caused the second-leg of the Miss Vera Bars to be cancelled twice, forcing officials to scrap the second-leg and send the series directly to a final Thursday night.
All nine three-year-old pacing fillies that competed in the first leg on February 5 returned for the final.
Maplelea, the winner of leg one, took most of the support at the windows and was sent off as the 4-5 favourite. However, she would have to settle for second-best, as Nippy W Hanover got the job done in 1:57.1.
Driven by Mario Baillargeon, Nippy W Hanover got away in second from her rail starting spot. Down the backstretch, Baillargeon opted to circle around to the lead and never looked back.
After reaching the three-quarter pole in 1:28 with Maplelea first up at her wheel, Nippy W Hanover turned aside the favourite’s challenge in the lane and paced home in :29.1 to win by 2 ½ lengths.
Wake N Bake closed well to finish third, while Docs Hollywood took fourth.
A daughter of American Ideal, Nippy W Hanover is trained by Blair Burgess for owners Karin Olsson Burgess and Mac Nichol. The sophomore pacing filly finished second in the first leg after winning her 2015 debut the week before.
The series final victory improves Nippy W Hanover’s career record to four wins from 12 starts and earnings exceeding $50,000.
A $2 win ticket on Nippy W Hanover returned $6.90.
In order to be eligible to the Miss Vera Bars series, the three-year-old fillies had to be non-winners of three races or $40,000 lifetime as of October 31, 2014.
The Jackpot Hi-5 continues to grow, now exceeding $421,343 in the pool going into Friday night's card.
To view the results from Thursday's card at Woodbine, click the following link: Thursday Results - Woodbine Racetrack.
(WEG)