Three eliminations for the $70,000-plus Dream Of Glory Trot were contested at Hanover Raceway Saturday night. The field for the Dream of Glory final is now set, and eight horses will headline the biggest night of the year at the Hanover oval on August 3.
In race three, Enough About You went off as the post-time favourite and had it all his way from the outset of the race. Driver Travis Henry, who was making his first steer of the three-year-old Mutineer gelding, rated an easy mile to win in 1:59.1.
After the race, Henry noted that he had talked with regular pilot Anthony MacDonald earlier in the week and simply “did what [he] was told.”
Enough About You won by two and a quarter lengths over Muscle On Broadway and Ross Battin, who also qualified for the final.
Henry also noted that the Dream Of Glory final will be the richest race of his young career and he’s looking forward to being a part of it.
The win was the fourth lifetime score for Enough About You, who was coming off a sixth-place finish in the Canadian Breeders Championship a week prior. Carmen Auciello trains for the Wheelhouse Racing Stable in Mississauga, Ont.
Another CBC finalist El Diablo Rojo engineered a wire-to-wire win in the second Dream Of Glory elimination. Bruce Richardson was in the bike for trainer Mike Bishop and owner Karen Carroll of Shedden, Ont. Richardson was able to hold off a challenge from Bop Too The Top and Matt Bax. El Diablo Rojo trotted the mile in 2:00.
"Depending on the post we draw, then I’ll figure out what trip to look for," said Richardson after the race. "If we draw on the inside, maybe the top will work out again, but we’ll see.”
El Diablo Rojo ended up drawing the rail for next week’s final.
The third elimination was contested after a lengthy rain delay soaked the track. Eat Pray Trot fired out to an early lead from post seven with Garrett Rooney steering. However, by the three-quarter station, Bax had grinded his way to the top with Her Name Is Lola. The Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series filly took control heading for home and held off late challenges from both Eat Pray Trot and a fast-closing Standing My Ground with Dave Boughton in the bike. She won in 2:02.1 over a track downgraded to "sloppy."
Two-time Dream of Glory winning trainer John Bax conditions Her Name Is Lola for Ontario owners Parkill Stud Farm of Peterborough, Gaelic Stable of Sharon, and Don Allensen of Wyoming. Bax will send out both Her Name Is Lola and Bop To The Top in the final.
The field for the $71,200 Dream Of Glory Final is as follows:
1. El Diablo Rojo
2. Katla
3. Muscle On Broadway
4. Eat Pray Trot
5. Standing My Ground
6. Her Name Is Lola
7. Bop To The Top
8. Enough About You
AE1. PC Momma Mia
AE2. Northern Nandi
Off the track, Jim McCrae of Sauble Beach, Ont. was the luckiest fan in attendance winning a 55-inch Panasonic Smart TV and Blueray package courtesy of 92.3 The Dock, and Modern Appliances of Hanover. McCrae said he’s a regular to Hanover Raceway and joked he’s going to need a lesson to learn all the great features the TV has to offer.
Dream of Glory day festivities will include a BBQ and live band, mini-horse race, rides in a Clydesdale Carriage for the post parades, a match race between the 2012 champion Summer Indian (1:51.1) and 2011 champ Traverse Seelster (1:51.2), the $70,000 Dream of Glory final, and a mascot race before the huge BEM fireworks display.
There will also be draws for accommodations and golf at Cobble Beach, tickets to Music in the Fields, and a draw for a plane trip for six via Brucelandair to either Killarney or Niagara Falls. Post time for Dream Of Glory Night is 6:30 p.m and doors open at 5 p.m.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Hanover Raceway.
(With files from Hanover Raceway)