It was a performance that even the late artist formerly known as Prince would have been impressed by as Team Allard watched When Dovescry turn in a sensational performance to Saturday’s $500,000 final of the Hambletonian Oaks at The Meadowlands.
When Dovescry wins the 2019 Hambletonian Oaks at The Meadowlands. (Lisa Photo)
After winning her elimination last week in 1:51.3, the Rene Allard-trained When Dovescry came into the rich affair brimming with confidence.
Simon Allard got away second in the early going as Southwind Casha marched to the top and whacked out the opening quarter in :26.4. Allard brushed to the lead in the backstretch with When Dovescry, and once she cleared she comfortably sailed through middle panels of :54.4 and 1:23.
When Dovescry turned on the jets in the lane and shrugged off a first over bid from Millies Possesion. A :27.2 closing quarter propelled When Dovescry to the two-length triumph over Millies Possesion in 1:50.2. Asiago, despite being parked every step of the mile, was a solid third. Allard crossed the finish line clutching the last whip ever used by his late idol, Herve Filion.
“It still had power for one more race,” Allard said about the whip, which he was given for the one-time use by Filion’s son Brandon. “When I stepped on the gas coming out of the last turn, I said, ‘I’ve still got something.’ That’s really good.
“This is the best place for big races, with a big crowd, and that’s what harness racing is supposed to be,” Allard continued. “It’s just such a great feeling. Sometimes you win big races at other tracks where the crowd is not so big but here it is packed today. It’s the best drivers and the best horses in the country, it’s just everything.
“It makes me think when we started with a $500 horse. (When Dovescry) was a $200,000 yearling, that’s the most expensive yearling we ever bought. We got lucky, she made it, and she is what she was supposed to be.
“It’s very emotional today.”
Sent off at odds of 2-1, When Dovescry improved her 2019 record to 2-2-1 from five attempts for the partnership of Go Fast Stable, Yves Sarrazin, Kapildeo Singh and Lawrence Dumain. The seven-time winner watched her overall cash stash climb to $576,250 with the victory.
“To be here as one of the owners, it’s just amazing,” said Singh, a 48-year-old Yorktown Heights, N.Y., resident. “It’s just awesome. I came here as a kid, 10 years old as a fan. We were reading the program and I learned about the breeding of horses. It’s a great game. I love it. This is the icing on the cake. To win the Hambo Oaks, it’s the best feeling.”
Check out all the happenings from 2019 Hambletonian Day at The Meadowlands in the 2019 Hambletonian Day News Centre
(with quotes from USTA)