Odds-on favourite Etruscan Hanover held off Will Take Charge to deliver on his pari-mutuel promise in the $11,000 Preferred 2 Trot, which closed out Georgian Downs' Saturday night (June 17) harness racing card.
Bob McClure drove on from post six with 6-5 favourite Etruscan Hanover to make the lead after the :28.2 opening panel and carved out middle splits of :57.1 and 1:26 before holding off the first quarter leader Will Take Charge (Steve Byron) from the pocket by half a length in 1:54.3. Coming off the final turn, the first-up Burnin Money (Travis Henry) broke stride while Intimidate (Doug Brown) had begun to fan wide off his cover. However, the top two took off down the lane with Ole Jack Magic (Scott Young) taking third over eight lengths behind.
Ben Baillargeon trains and co-owns the winning seven-year-old gelded son of Donato Hanover with Santo Vena of Brampton, Ont., Nunzio Vena of Bolton, Ont., and Claude Hamel of Ayer's Cliff, Que.
Despite a pair of breaks in recent starts, Mohawk regular Etruscan Hanover was the bettors' pick and paid $4.70 to win. He earned his third victory of the season from 11 starts and pushed his annual income to $32,450.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Georgian Downs.