Harness: Bulldog Hanover dominates O'Brien Awards

Canada's O'Brien Awards took place on Saturday night at the Hilton Mississauga / Meadowvale in Mississauga, Ontario, and as expected, Bulldog Hanover was the star of the show, collecting three trophies.

Bulldog Hanover won the Somebeachsomewhere Horse of the Year Award, the O'Brien for Older Pacing Horses, and the Cam Fella Award, which "recognizes extreme recent meritorious service to the Canadian harness racing industry." The now-retired Bulldog Hanover, trained by Jack Darling for his stable and partner Brad Grant, won 14 of his 16 starts in 2022 and earned C$1,858,210.

For an unprecedented tenth straight season, Richard Moreau won Trainer of the Year. Moreau's charges visited the winner's circle 330 times in 2022 and he earned a career-best C$5,254,296. Moreau won his first Breeders Crown last year with Gaines Hanover in the 2-Year-Old Colt Trot. Gaines Hanover would also collect the O'Brien Award for that division, and Moreau's Fashion Frenzie was also honored, grabbing the O'Brien for Older Male Trotter.

James MacDonald collected his second straight Keith Waples Driver of the Year crown after posting lifetime-best numbers in wins (451), earnings (C$9,919,619), and UDRS (.344). Four of MacDonald's regular drives: Silver Label (Three-Year-Old Filly Pace), Adare Castle (Three-Year-Old Filly Trot), Twin B Archie (Three-Year-Old Colt Trot), and So Much More (Older Pacing Mare), won O'Brien Awards of their own.

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Pebble Beach, who earned the most money north of the border last year, won the "glamour boy" title for 3-year-old colt pacers. The winner of the Pepsi North America Cup and Breeders Crown, Pebble Beach was trained by Noel Daley for owners Patricia Stable, Joe Sbrocco, Country Club Acres Inc., and Laexpressfoderadeovolente.

The full list of O'Brien Award winners, courtesy of Standardbred Canada, is as follows.

2022 O'BRIEN AWARD WINNERS

PACERS
Two-Year-Old Pacing Filly

SYLVIA HANOVER

Owner: Hudson Standardbred Stb Inc., Hudson, QC
Breeder: Hanover Shoe Farms Inc., Hanover, PA

Two-Year-Old Pacing Colt
STOCKADE SEELSTER

Owners: Sally MacDonald, Souris, PE
Paul MacDonald, Toronto, ON
Breeder: Seelster Farms Inc., Lucan, ON

Three-Year-Old Pacing Filly
SILVER LABEL

Owner: Millar Farms, Stouffville, ON
Breeder: Millar Farms, Stouffville, ON

Three-Year-Old Pacing Colt
PEBBLE BEACH
Owners: Patricia Stable, Massapequa, NY
Joe Sbrocco, Brecksville, OH
Country Club Acres Inc., Findlay, OH
Laexpressfoderadeovolente, Chesterfield, NJ
Breeder: Brittany Farms LLC, Versailles, KY

Older Pacing Mare
SO MUCH MORE

Owners: Don Beatson, Granton, ON
Ken Beatson, Palgrave, ON
Cole England, Exeter, ON
Breeder: Doug Mac Phee, New Haven, PE

Older Pacing Horse
BULLDOG HANOVER

Owners: Jack Darling Stables Ltd, Cambridge, ON
Brad Grant, Milton, ON
Breeder: Hanover Shoe Farms Inc., Hanover, PA

TROTTERS
Two-Year-Old Trotting Filly

RIGHTEOUS RESOLVE

Owners: Bet Max Stables Inc, Casco, MI
Benenati Inc, Clinton Twp, MI
Breeder: Bet Max Stables Inc, Casco, MI & Benenati Inc, Clinton Twp, MI

Two-Year-Old Trotting Colt
GAINES HANOVER

Owner: Gestion J Y Blais Inc, Montreal, QC
Breeder: Hanover Shoe Farms Inc., Hanover, PA

Three-Year-Old Trotting Filly
ADARE CASTLE

Owners: Mark Etsell, Rockwood, ON
Robert Newton, Walkerton, ON
Graham Hopkins, Chesley, ON
Peter Porter, Port Dover, ON
Breeder: Ed Lohmeyer, Cream Ridge, NJ

Three-Year-Old Trotting Colt
TWIN B ARCHIE

Owners: Scott McEneny, Puslinch, ON
Domenic Chiaravalle, Hamilton, ON
Floyd Marshall, Jarvis, ON
Martwest Racing Stable, Mississauga, ON
Breeder: Twinbrook Limited, Embro, ON

Older Trotting Mare
ATLANTA

Owners: Crawford Farms Racing, Syracuse, NY
Brad Grant, Milton, ON
Howard Taylor, Philadelphia, PA
Breeder: Order By Stable, Boras, Sweden

Older Trotting Horse
FASHION FRENZIE

Owners: Ecurie Francis Richard Inc, Becancour, QC
Mario Bourgea, Stanbridge East, QC
Pierre Guillemette, Becancour, QC
Sylvain Richard, Becancour, QC
Breeder: John Petrik, Moorefield, ON

PEOPLE AWARDS
O’Brien Award of Horsemanship

IAN MOORE
Cambridge, ON

Armstrong Breeder of the Year

MILLAR FARMS
Stouffville, ON

Keith Waples Driver of the Year
JAMES MACDONALD
Guelph, ON

Trainer of the Year

RICHARD MOREAU
Puslinch, ON

Future Star Award

SAMUEL FILLION
Mont-Joli, QC

SOMEBEACHSOMEWHERE HORSE OF THE YEAR

Bulldog Hanover

CAM FELLA AWARD WINNER

Bulldog Hanover

Media Excellence Awards
Outstanding Written Work – Dave Briggs for "There's still some magic left in the old game."

Outstanding Film, Video, Broadcast – Jeff Robillard, Horse Racing Alberta and Mike Little, Shine Light Entertainment for the Fun For Fans Promo Video.

Outstanding Photography – Clive Cohen for “The Long Shadow”

Outstanding Groom Award – Kayla Chappell, Millet, AB