Trot Insider has learned that the fastest Standardbred on the planet, Bulldog Hanover will not be headed to the Buckeye State for stakes action this weekend.
According to trainer and co-owner Jack Darling, Bulldog Hanover's original schedule after the Canadian Pacing Derby included the Jim Ewart Memorial at Scioto Downs on Saturday (Sept. 10). Instead, Team Bulldog will sit this one out and watch the older pacers battle for the $200,000 purse from their Cambridge, Ont. homebase.
"We decided not to go," Darling told Trot Insider on Tuesday morning. "I'm trying to manage his schedule so he's fresh going into the later part of the season going into Lexington and the Breeders Crown."
On Saturday (Sept. 3), Bulldog Hanover matched the track and all-time Canadian record in the $650,000 Canadian Pacing Derby at Woodbine Mohawk Park, winning in 1:46.4 to bring his lifetime record to 24-3-1 from 32 starts with nearly $2 million in earnings for Darling and co-owner Brad Grant.
With the Ewart off the table, expect to see Bulldog Hanover race next on Sept. 23 in the Hoosier Park Pacing Derby at Harrah's Hoosier Park.
Bulldog vs. Allywag
At least we'll see the "other" Hanover, Allywag, in The Ewart on Saturday. Though lightly staked, Allywag would probably win the award for The Best Older Pacer Of 2022 Not Named Bulldog Hanover, and unlike Bulldog, Allywag has never finished out of the money this year. The only time the 2 horses have faced each other was in The Roll With Joe in July, in which Bulldog won and Allywag placed. As of right now, both horses are scheduled to face each other again next month in The Breeders Crown.