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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – The doll of her class as a 2- and 3-year-old, Sylvia Hanover (Always B Miki) endured many harness racing defeats as Twin B Joe Fresh claimed the crown in the 4-year-old campaign in progress to a Horse of the Year title. But Sylvia Hanover returned in the fourth start of her 5-year-old season and landed a serious wallop on 1-9 chalk Twin B Joe Fresh to pull a stunner in the $116,500 Perfect Sting on Saturday night (June 28) at The Meadowlands.
Leaving from the pylon post, driver Tim Tetrick charged Sylvia Hanover to the fore and endured pressure from Aardie B Miki N through a :26 first quarter before caving for a pocket ride. Tetrick then found himself shuffled to third when My Girl EJ swooped from a forward seat to the front of the train before a :53.4 half. Twin B Joe Fresh meanwhile raced fourth and angled first up for a steady grind through the final turn.
Twin B Joe Fresh inched to within a length of My Girl EJ coming to three-quarters in 1:21.3 while Tetrick had room to swing into the second-over seat with Sylvia Hanover in the turn for home.
Twin B Joe Fresh reached forward for the lead as Tetrick launched to the center of the track with Sylvia Hanover, and within a matter of strides she bolted past the reigning divisional champ to score a 10-1 shock going away by two lengths in a 1:48.2 mile.
SYLVIA HANOVER REPLAY
My Girl EJ settled for third and Valar Dohaeris closed for fourth.
“She’s just a great horse,” winning driver Tim Tetrick said after the race. “She overcomes bad drives and she’s tough. Speed doesn’t really bother her – she’s big, strong and can carry it. I went hard to the quarter to make sure they had plenty of speed, and I think she’s just better if she wears them all out. That was just my theory on it and it continued to work.”
Mark Steacy trains Sylvia Hanover, a 5-year-old mare by Always B Miki, for owner Hudson Standardbred Stable Inc. She won her 23rd race from 43 starts, has now earned $1,927,219 and paid $23.80 to win.
REYNOLDS WRAP UP: There were four divisions of the W.N. Reynolds for 3-year-old trotters contested on the undercard, with two dashes for colts and geldings and two for fillies.
In the first split for males, which went for a purse of $34,825, Hambletonian hopeful Go Dog Go (Greenshoe-Primary Target) followed live cover on the way to a lifetime-best 1:52 score for driver Todd McCarthy and trainer Carter Pinske. The 1-5 favorite paid $2.60 to win.
Another horse with Hambo dreams, Gap Kronos S (Face Time Bourbon-I’m Really Special) took the lead at the half and went down the road from there in the other division for males for Yannick Gingras and Ake Svanstedt in a lifetime-best-equaling 1:51.4. As the 9-5 second choice, he returned $5.60 to his backers in the $34,325 dash.
Yo Tillie (Tactical Landing-Consolidator) used an explosive move to three-quarters to win the first division for fillies – which went for $33,375 – by eight lengths in a lifetime-best 1:51 for Todd McCarthy and Andrew Harris. The 2-5 public choice paid $2.80.
In the $32,875 second split for fillies, New Jersey Sire Stakes champion and Hambletonian Oaks eligible Conversano (Muscle Hill-Celebrity Ruth) grabbed the lead at the half and held sway to the wire in 1:52.1 for Andy McCarthy and Juan Cano. As the 8-5 second choice, she paid $5.40.
A LITTLE MORE: A carryover of $6,742 enticed bettors to pour $57,678 of “new money” into the 20-cent Pick-6 pool for a grand total of $64,420. After a sequence that saw winner’s odds of 9-1, 2-1, 2-5, 10-1, 8-5 and 7-2, winning tickets were exchanged for $4,253.76. … Joe Bongiorno, Todd McCarthy and Dave Miller led the drivers with two wins apiece, while Svanstedt and Bongiorno topped the trainers as each took a pair of walks down victory lane. … All-source handle on the 14-race program totaled $3,515,284. … Racing resumes Friday at 6:20 p.m.
For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.
by Ray Cotolo, for The Meadowlands
