Harness: Top pacers eye future engagements
Now that the dust has settled and Bulldog Hanover is the fastest horse in history after stopping the timer in 1:45 4/5 at The Meadowlands on Saturday (July 16), the focus shifts to what's next -- not just for the 'Bulldog' but also other top pacers.
Noel Daley, who basically called himself a "babysitter" for Bulldog Hanover during the 4-year-old's time in New Jersey as he rewrote the record books, said Bulldog Hanover was returning to Canada to regular trainer Jack Darling. Daley outlined the Dan Patch at Hoosier Park on August 12 as the son of Shadow Play's next race, followed by the Canadian Pacing Derby and the Breeders Crown. While the decision will come down to Darling, Daley speculated that a trip to The Red Mile in early October could be less likely now that Bulldog Hanover already broke the all-time record of 1:46 formerly shared by Always B Miki and Lather Up.
Meadowlands Pace winner Beach Glass has a number of options over the next six weeks and trainer Brent MacGrath said he will weigh the options ahead of Wednesday's )July 20) draw for the Adios Pace eliminations at The Meadows.
"I have the Adios on the radar. It looks like I might skip it, but nothing is carved in stone," said MacGrath, who added that he'd be more interested in the Adios if there were no eliminations. "He's got the Cane [at The Meadowlands]. I'm thinking the Milstein [Northfield] as well. Then he has the Max Hempt at Pocono. After that he goes from August 20 to the 1st of October with one race, the Simcoe at Mohawk."
MacGrath called Beach Glass's 1:47 2/5 win "spectacular but not surprising" and thinks we haven't seen the best from the 3-year-old son of Somebeachsomewhere. "Yannick is very high on him and he knows good horses," said MacGrath. "He's only had 10 races so he should get better for sure."
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Formerly considered the top older pacer in the country before Bulldog Hanover's emergence, Jimmy Freight was expected to start in the $250,000 Joe Gerrity Jr. Memorial at Saratoga Raceway on Saturday (July 23) but he wasn't part of the eight-horse field when the entries were announced. According to one of his owners, the 7-year-old suffered a cut around his coronet band while shipping. The $1.56 million career winner is expected to qualify in a couple of weeks and would potentially be on track for the #Senditin Invitational at Scioto Downs on August 19.
Below is the field for the Gerrity, race 6 on Saturday at Saratoga:
1-Workin Ona Mystery
2-This Is The Plan
3-Tattoo Artist
4-Nandolo N
5-Priceless Beach
6-Leonidas A
7-Linedrive Hanover
8-Dragon Said