American History upsets Sylvia Hanover

Veteran harness racing campaigner American History (American Ideal) returned to action during the session of qualifiers on Friday, Aug. 29 at Woodbine Mohawk Park, besting one of the sport’s hottest horses — 2023 Horse of the Year Sylvia Hanover.

In the final Friday qualifier at Mohawk, American History and driver Dale Spence made every call a winning one. After cutting the mile through fractions of :27.2, :56.2 and 1:24.1, American History hurried home in :27.3 for the sharp 1:51.4 tally. Sylvia Hanover followed willingly throughout and finished second under a very snug hold to driver Bob McClure.

Back in the barn of trainer MacKenzie Spence, American History is a 49-time winner is his decorated career with more than $1.9 million in earnings. Patrick Hill of Fredericton, N.B. owns the 10-year-old son of American Ideal – Perfect Touch.

Sylvia Hanover missed her last scheduled start, the G3 Cleopatra Invitational for older female pacers at Scioto Downs on Saturday, Aug. 23, due to sickness. Mark Steacy told Trot Insider that the daughter of Always B Miki – Shyaway had something akin to an allergic reaction just before the trip to Ohio, necessitating the scratch. Expect to see the Hudson Standardbred Stable-owned double millionaire and world champion dropped into the box for the 2025 Milton Stakes, with eliminations for that event on tap next weekend.

The full video stream is available below.

To view Monday’s harness racing results, click the following link: Monday Results – Woodbine Mohawk Park.

From Standardbred Canada