Rain showers may have deterred some fans from attending, but the 12th annual Balanced Image Trot was an exciting one.
Hanover Raceway played host to a Hanover Hospital Foundation fundraiser during the Saturday, August 27 program with well over $3,000 made towards the purchase of some emergency equipment.
There were six blanket sponsorships, a $1,600 50-50 winner, and a corn roast during the races, the highlight of which was the $61,400 Balanced Image final.
Parkhill No Credit, trained by John Bax and driven by Steve Byron, was first off the gate, but an unfortunate break after a quarter in :29.3 allowed Rosberg, part-owned and trained by Julie Walker, to inherit the lead past the half in 1:00.3 and he remained on top to the three-quarters in 1:30.4. However, the two-year-old son of Manofmanymissions failed to finish the job in a three-wide race to the finish. Advancing from third, Lucys Man prevailed by half a length in 2:00.4 over Rosberg, with Speedycrest inside third from the pocket.
Lucys Man is a son of Muscle Mass and is owned by a numbered Ottawa company. Lucys Man is trained by Tan Micallef and was driven to his first career win by Anthony MacDonald despite his seven starting position.
Afterwards, MacDonald said it was hard to prepare for the race when you start from the seven-hole, but he knew he had a talented horse. He said he managed to get away in front of the five and six horses, which was his goal, and he wasn’t sure how much Brad Forward had left with Rosberg, but he knew his horse was going to be strong down the stretch.
Early breaks by Parkhill No Credit, Lady Justice, Mister Bianco, and Scene A Magician also helped his cause.
The Hospital Foundation also held a human sulky race with three teams taking part. The staff at the Hanover hospital x-ray department and the Hanover Oldtimers and Goodtimers hockey teams took part with the Goodtimers coming out on top.
Hanover Raceway has one month left of live racing, including next Saturday, September 3 with a post time of 7:15 p.m.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Hanover Raceway.
(With files from Hanover Raceway)