Todd McCarthy more than made his first venture to Woodbine Mohawk Park a worthwhile one, capturing Saturday's (Sept. 4) $590,000 Canadian Pacing Derby at Woodbine Mohawk Park with the seemingly unstoppable Allywag Hanover ($4.20).
The four-year-old Captaintreacherous gelding was tested twice in the first half mile: He first strode clear of early speedster Cattlewash (David Miller) beyond a :12.2 opening furlong, and then reemerged midway up the backstretch after yielding to Catch The Fire (Scott Zeron) with five-eighths to go. Allywag Hanover was strung out some by Catch The Fire nearing a :54.3 half but cleared confidently — only for Cattlewash to resurface first-over on the far turn.
After being nudged to three-quarters in 1:22, Allywag Hanover sprinted away powerfully off the home corner, amassing three lengths of clearance at McCarthy's first asking and holding that margin nearly intact at the end of a 1:49 mile. Catch The Fire saved second from the pocket; This Is The Plan (Yannick Gingras) narrowly claimed third up the pegs over the fading Cattlewash.
"It's very surreal; I'm thankful for the opportunity to be here under the circumstances," said McCarthy about his first foray north of the 49th parallel since relocating to the U.S. from his native Australia.
Brett Pelling trains 15-time winner Allywag Hanover, who has earned just shy of $900,000 in his career, for the 10-person Allywag Stable partnership. Allywag Hanover's Canadian Pacing Derby win follows a series of high-level scores this season, including the Sam McKee Memorial and the William Haughton Memorial, the latter of which was the venue for his 1:47.1 lifetime mark.
"He's just been terrific," McCarthy continued. "I was lucky enough to pick him up at the right time, and Brett's got him razor sharp right now. It was a big thing to come here, and to supplement certainly wasn't cheap."
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