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LEXINGTON, Ky.— Bythemissal (Downbytheseaside) secured the lead from post 10 and maintained command to the finish while Sylvia Hanover lowered the track record for aged pacing mares in their respective divisions of the Allerage Farms Pace on Sunday (Oct. 6) at The Red Mile.
Once reaching the lead, Bythemissal cruised and then withstood a furious rally from Abuckabett Hanover to win the $159,000 Allerage Open Pace, sponsored by Jeff & Paula Gural, in 1:47.2.
Driver Yannick Gingras launched Bythemissal from the outermost post and reached the lead after a :26.2 first quarter to pocket Rocknroll Runa A (driven by Todd McCarthy), who soon broke stride into the backstretch.
Bythemissal rolled on a loose lead with Muskateer Hanover (Tony Hall) tightening from the pocket to a :53.4 half and stayed on cruise control through the final turn while Little Rocket Man (David Miller) led the two-wide tier first over. Bythemissal clocked by three-quarters in 1:21.1 and accelerated for home as Abuckabett Hanover (Dexter Dunn) sprung from his second-over position after the leader.
BYTHEMISSAL REPLAY
Abuckabett Hanover kept digging at Bythemissal through the final eighth but Bythemissal responded to urging and to the challenge to hold onto the win by a head. Muskateer Hanover gave chase in third and Admiral Hill (Matt Kakaley) rallied for fourth.
“It’s been a tough year with him,” trainer Ron Burke said of Bythemissal, who won his first race of the season in his fifth start and in his third start since a near three-month layoff. “Things went wrong that I never saw coming, but thank God the owners are all so good about it [saying] ‘Take your time.’ This horse is going to be here for the next three or four years, so we just took our time and hope to finish strong now.”
“I knew he was ready,” Yannick Gingras said after the race. “Last time in Indiana [in the Harrah’s Hoosier Park Pacing Derby] I thought he raced tremendously. We talked about it [Ronnie and I] – we were going to race him hard; he needs the miles anyway. Leaving the gate, I was looking at David [Miller] and Dex[ter Dunn] and they were both taking off, so I just marched to the lead and he did the rest.”
Bythemissal, a 5-year-old gelding by Downbytheseaside, won his 26th race from 38 starts and added to a bankroll now worth $2,287,891 for owners Burke Racing Stable, Eric Good, Rich Lombardo Racing and Weaver Bruscemi. He paid $7.08 to win.
Sylvia Hanover (Always B Miki) took awhile to get rolling, but once driver Bob McClure put her in play she stormed over the clay to register a track-record 1:47.3 win in the $65,500 Catch The Fire Allerage Farms Mare Pace, sponsored by Sugar Valley Farms.
McClure settled into fourth with Sylvia Hanover as Zanatta (Dexter Dunn) shot from post 6 to the lead into a :26.2 first quarter. Always B Naughty (Yannick Gingras) moved off the pylons from third to grab the lead into the backstretch while McClure took his time edging Sylvia Hanover off the pylons. Once on the outside, Sylvia Hanover lunged forward, collared Always B Naughty after a :53.4 half and steamrolled through the final turn to clock three-quarters in 1:21.1. Sylvia Hanover wandered off the cones in the straight but McClure raised the reins and kept his charge focused all through the lane to cross the line 2-3/4 lengths better than Always B Naughty. Beach Cowgirl (Todd McCarthy) took third off a third-over trip and Zanatta finished fourth.
SYLVIA HANOVER REPLAY
The lifetime-best 1:47.3 mile by Sylvia Hanover bests the previous track record for a 4-year-old pacing mare of 1:48 set by Rocknificent back in 2021 and comes just three-fifths of a second short of Test Of Faith’s world record set in 2022 at The Meadowlands.
“It’s a nice thing to have, that’s for sure,” Shawn Steacy, trainer of Sylvia Hanover along with father Mark Steacy, said of the track record in a race where Sylvia Hanover evaded her career-long rival Twin B Joe Fresh. “Twin B Joe Fresh is having a great year, but our mare is racing fantastic too. It’s just two great [mares] in one year, that’s all it is.”
A daughter of Always B Miki, Sylvia Hanover won just her second race from 14 starts this season but collected her 20th victory from 36 starts in her career, good for $1,748,495 in earnings for owner Hudson Standardbred Stable Inc. She paid $2.92 to win.
For complete race results, click here: US Trotting Results
by Ray Cotolo, for The Red Mile
