It wasn’t a kind night for the favourites in the opening leg of the Sharpes Series for horse and gelding pacers at Hanover Raceway, but that didn’t seem to bother the upsetting tandem of Easton Beach and Nagle.
Easton Beach went wire-to-wire in the $5,000 opening division for trainer/driver George Ketros. The three-year-old son of Somebeachsomewhere carved out panels of :28.1, :59.3 and 1:28.4 before using a :29 kicker to win by three-quarters of a length over favourite Lil Beau Duke in 1:57.4. Toxic Hanover rounded out the Trifecta ticket.
Mary Ketros of Arthur, Ont. owns the gelding who won for the first time in his career.
Nagle also produced his first lifetime win thanks to a 1:57.3 triumph in the second division for driver Bruce Richardson. The three-year-old son of Dali rallied past pacesetting Premier Rockstar in the late stages of the contest and got up to win by a nose over that heavily favoured foe in 1:57.3. Wibble Hanover was third.
Keith Jones trains the sophomore for owner Jody Simmons of London, Ont.
To view results for Saturday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Saturday Results – Hanover Raceway.