All eyes – and whole bunch of pari-mutuel dollars – were on Pemberton in Monday’s $58,500 Free For All Trot at Woodbine Mohawk Park, but Pikachu Hanover stole his thunder with a front-stepping score at long odds.
Pikachu Hanover marched to the lead from Post 7 for driver Louis-Philippe Roy and carved out first-half fractions of :27.3 and :56.3 before coming under attack from the heavily-favoured Pemberton.
Pikachu Hanover braced for the Pemberton pressure around the final, but when the favourite blew up around the final bend it left the door wide-open for an upset – and Pikachu Hanover was in the mood to do just that. He sped by the three-quarter pole in 1:24.3 and then used a :27.3 closing quarter to win by three-quarters of a length over Patriarch Hanover in 1:52.1. Dream Nation was third.
Gregg McNair trains the eight-year-old son of Andover Hall-Playwood for High Stakes Stable Inc of Farmington Hills, MI. The win improved his 2022 record to 3-2-2 from 14 starts. The 27-time winner lifted his lifetime earnings to $381,504 with the victory.
To view results for Monday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Monday Results – Woodbine Mohawk Park.