Calgary Caper hangs on in Lieutenant Governor's Handicap

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Calgary Caper paid $13.00 for winning the $50,000 Lieutenant Governor's Handicap at Hastings on Sunday.

Calgary Caper’s 2 1/2-length victory over Modern in the 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds and up gave trainer Phil Hall a sweep of the two stakes on the seven-race card. Earlier Hall had won the $50,000 Spaghetti Mouse for 2-year-olds with Summerland, who was very impressive winning the six-furlong dash by 7 1/4 lengths.

With Sahin Civaci riding, Calgary Caper was allowed to settle early and was saving ground while Modern carved out a quick half-mile in 46.19 seconds. He was full of run approaching the quarter-pole, but he had a wall of horses in front of him. Civaci guided him through an opening on the stretch turn and after weaving his way through traffic Calgary Caper emerged with the lead soon after they turned for home. Modern was game while holding off Coulterberry for the runner-up spot.

The final time was 1:43.65.

“My horse likes to sit and wait,” Cavaci said. “He was full of power and when I asked him to go at the three-eighths pole I was just hoping I could find a way through. He didn’t hesitate when a hole opened up.”

The 7-year-old Kentucky-bred by El Corredor is owned by Hall, Kim Peacock, and Lance Giesbrecht.