Upset in Preferred-2 thriller

Patriarch Hanover (Father Patrick) got up to win a hotly-contested $32,000 Preferred-2 Trot at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Monday (Apr. 29) in a 9-1 harness racing upset.

The stallion was fastest away for Doug McNair but ceded the lead to Looks Like Moni (James MacDonald) going to the quarter in :27. A three-wide battle kicked off down the backstretch with the first-over Perfetto (Dagfin Henriksen) advancing and Southwind Coors (Chris Christoforou) swinging three-wide nearing the half in :55.4. Perfetto cleared shortly past the midway point but refused to let the favoured Southwind Coors by, and they went at it around the final turn.

Patriarch Hanover sat third-over in an outside flow of five going to three-quarters in 1:23.4 with Perfetto holding off the challenger. The field fanned six-wide coming down the lane with four horses closing on the leaders, and Patriarch Hanover produced the strongest late charge. He put his nose in front in the final metres and held off Franks Angel (Bob McClure) for the victory in 1:52.1.

Franks Angel closed from seventh for the place finish over Looks Like Moni.

PATRIARCH HANOVER REPLAY

Patriarch Hanover has raced in and around the Woodbine Mohawk Park top level since 2022. Monday’s win was his first in a Preferred or Free For All since May 2023. Richard Moreau trains him for Brad Grant of Milton. The seven-year-old stallion is now 25-for-152 lifetime and has raked in $832,971.

Also on the card, Royal Regatta (Mcardle) won his ninth consecutive race. He led all the way with James MacDonald in the bike, rebuffing two challengers in the stretch to score by a length-and-a-quarter in 1:52.3. Michael Strasbourg claimed the gelding from Nancy McGuire, who owned the gelding for his last three wins. Royal Regatta has won 39 of his 198 lifetime starts and has earned $309,395. Clifford McGuire trained him to the most recent tally.

ROYAL REGATTA REPLAY

The next card at Woodbine Mohawk Park is set for Thursday, May 2 with a first post of 7:10 p.m. EDT.

For complete race results, click here.

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink