In a trip identical to her elimination, Sylvia Hanover had to work hard to get to the lead, was passed on the far turn, and then battled back in the lane to take command again and take Friday night's C$810,000/US$600,000 Breeders Crown 2-Year-Old Filly Pace final at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Bellisima Hanover (Todd McCarthy) and Sweet Amira (Louis-Philippe Roy) charged away from posts nine and eight, respectively, and Bellisima Hanover led at the 27 3/5 opening quarter. Sylvia Hanover (Bob McClure) would move out of third after that marker, but as has been the case, she was under constant urging from McClure to get by an under-a-death-grip Bellisima Hanover nearing the 57 second half-mile marker. Once Sylvia Hanover hit the front, she came under immediate siege from a two-wide Charleston (Dexter Dunn), and Charleston forged her way to the point on the final bend. Charleston would then trade blows to the 1:23 4/5 three-quarters and into the lane with an uncovered Strong Poison (Yannick Gingras), while Horizontal (Sylvain Filion) was unable to keep up with Strong Poison's cover. Charleston turned for home first and looked to see it out, but Horizontal not being able to keep attached to Strong Poison gave McClure a path to angle to the outside with Sylvia Hanover. Once she had room, Sylvia Hanover had plenty of pace to go with it, and she rallied past Charleston to prevail by a length and a quarter in 1:51 1/5. Strong Poison, Sweet Amira, and Bellisima Hanover completed the top five. "I fully intended to just come from off cover with her. I figured second-over, third-over. I thought the inside four would leave, and I knew there'd be a couple of leavers from the outside. I got up on the gate and none of the inside horses were pushing out, and I couldn't get away seventh or eighth and give them that advantage," said McClure. "I decided I'd try my luck with that trip again, and she got caught again. We got really lucky, I wouldn't call it any skill, I just got extremely lucky to get out. If Sylvain could keep up to cover, I'm probably still in there. "From the three-quarter pole on, there's no driving on her, she gives you everything she's got. She's great leaving the gate, it's just that middle-half. You can sit there and knock her down for that trait, and the odd trait, she is finicky and she is lazy, but man, she definitely knows how to get her nose to the wire first, and she's proven that. If weren't for the 11-hole one week, she'd be undefeated this year. I'm just extremely lucky to be along for the ride with her." Shawn Steacy trains Sylvia Hanover, a daughter of Always B Miki-Shyaway, for owner Hudson Standardbred Stable Inc. She has a record of 8-1-0 from nine starts, and she has now banked C$903,300. She was the 1-2 favorite and paid $3.00 to win. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter "I was really nervous because I know the horse, she goes what she wants to go, not what anybody else wants her to go," Steacy said of the Hanover Shoe Farms-bred who fetched $135,000 at last year's Standardbred Horse Sale. "When she's mentally prepared, she just does what she has to do. I knew it would be up to tactics, and Bob did a real good job. "When you're the favorite in the race, too, it's a lot of pressure, but it's good pressure. It's what you live for. That's what we want in this business. This was the first Breeders Crown champion for Tony and Betty Infilise's Hudson Standardbred Stable, and they were both beaming with joy. "It feels fantastic. Betty and I have been in this business for 40 odd years. First Breeders Crown, we've been in a few, and it just feels so sweet," remarked Tony Infilise. "We're so appreciative for the hard work of all of Team Steacy and the efforts of Bob McClure right from the first start. Choosing a filly like this, you need some luck. Mark was great at looking at the conformation and so on, and we worked on the pedigree together. It's very, very special after all those decades of being in this business. "It's a fabulous business. I encourage anybody. Don't expect to make money every year necessarily, but it's a wonderful business. It gives you not as many highs as lows, but they're really worthwhile when they happen. This is a phenomenal one. It's probably one of our best in the business so far. "She'll get a well-deserved rest now."