Camluck Classic champion Ervin Hanover bided his time off torturous fractions before unleashing a three-wide push for home to foil his favoured stablemate Brue Hanover's attempt at a fifth consecutive win on Saturday, Aug. 2 in the $36,000 Preferred Pace at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Sent off the even-money favourite in the six-horse field, Brue Hanover (J.R. Plante) sprinted aggressively to the fore to seat Taurasi (Doug McNair) in the pocket through a :26.1 opening quarter. Meanwhile, Ervin Hanover and Tyler Borth stalked comfortably from fourth as Brue Hanover led the single-file field through the half in :54, only to set the five-year-old Captaintreacherous-Eloquent Grace entire in motion three-wide midway around the far turn at the very instant 46-1 outsider Pacino Hanover (Ed Hensley) vacated the pegs immediately in front of him.
Brue Hanover remained uncontested on the lead at the 1:21.3 three-quarters, but Ervin Hanover circled powerfully and ground forward in the stretch with a :26 final split to prevail by a head in 1:48.1. Dublin Dasher (Travis Cullen) closed belatedly for third.
Now a 19-time winner from 66 starts with $672,913 in earnings, Ervin Hanover scored his third win of the season for trainer David Menary and owner Pollack Racing of Venetia, Pennsylvania. He paid $6.40 to win as the 2-1 second choice.
Borth, Menary and Pollack Racing also took one of two $17,000 Pop-Up Series events for male pacers on Saturday, teaming up with Bold Spirit ($11.70) for a 1:49 score. The four-year-old Stay Hungry-Her Music Rocks gelding controlled sizzling middle splits of :53.3 and 1:21.1 before narrowly staving off a late burst of sped from Rochester Flash (Trevor Henry) to take a second off his lifetime mark in his ninth career win.
In the other Pop-Up section, Beyond Better ($19.80) vaulted off third-over cover to just nab Rockabilly Rebel N (Doug McNair) at the end of a 1:52 mile, springing an 8-1 upset in the act. Scott Young drove the eight-year-old Bettors Delight-Somethinincredible gelding for owner/trainer Jeff Williams.
This Pop-Up Series is for non-winners of $50,000 in a minimum of 12 starts in 2025, with starters for a purse of $11,000 or less in their last start also eligible.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results – Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(Standardbred Canada)