Woodbine Mohawk Park: Bulldog Hanover vs. Jimmy Freight in marquee Canadian Pacing Derby matchup

There will be a special treat in store for racing fans who tune-in to Saturday night's card at Woodbine Mohawk Park. In what will hopefully be the first of many thrilling match-ups through the rest of 2022, the sport's fastest horse Bulldog Hanover will square off with fan favorite and near double-millionaire Jimmy Freight for the first time in their careers.

Despite both starting the year in Canada, with Bulldog Hanover being a 4-year-old and competing in races exclusively for that division, he was never able to meet up with the 7-year-old Jimmy Freight. Then injury struck Jimmy Freight as he shipped down to the U.S., sidelining him from mid-June to mid-August and eliminating all opportunity for a clash between these older pacing behemoths. While fate prevented a match-up last weekend as they drew into separate divisions of the Canadian Pacing Derby eliminations, the long wait is over and both will be behind the gate in the C$650,000 final.

"It should be a good race since they both look like they are going in in top form," said Bulldog Hanover's trainer Jack Darling, who was more concerned with his horse than the competition. "It is not so much fearing the other horse. I just hope my horse is at his best. If he races as he's been racing, he'll be awful tough."

"It should be an exciting race...and it is loaded with a lot of very nice horses," said Jimmy Freight's driver Louis-Phillippe Roy. "Both Jimmy and Bulldog have been beating the same great horses in Tattoo Artist, Linedrive Hanover, Rockyroad Hanover, Warrawee Vital and company lately. Unfortunately with his shipping injuries Jimmy didn't have the chance to sparkle on the lately lightning-fast Meadowlands oval."

Roy was referring to a Meadowlands surface which at least played a part in Bulldog Hanover posting back-to-back-to-back performances of 1:46, 1:46 1/5 and 1:45 4/5. Those miles, along with an eight-race winning streak, perhaps give Bulldog Hanover an air of superiority over Jimmy Freight on paper that perhaps may not exist in reality. Consider that the only common track the pair have in 2022 is Woodbine Mohawk Park and they both own 1:48 marks over that surface.

Bulldog Hanover's 1:48 clocking came in his Canadian Pacing Derby elimination as he lined up behind cover with regular driver Dexter Dunn off a fast 54 1/5 half and 1:21 2/5 three-quarters. From there he gobbled up his foes to win easily with a 26 2/5 final quarter.

Following the strong effort, Darling reports his charge was still feeling very good.

"He trained a little this morning and is as good as he can be," said Darling on August 31. "He's a good eater, and he's fairly easy on himself and relaxed for a stud."

Jimmy Freight was similarly patient in his elimination as Roy elected to sit the three-hole, but the fractions were on the pokey side with 56 1/5 and 1:22 4/5 accounting for the middle splits. While Jimmy Freight then uncorked a 25 4/5 last-quarter kicker, it was only enough to stop the timer in 1:49 1/5.

"Not really," said Roy when asked if he was surprised he won the elimination so easily. "Jimmy proved for his last 10 starts that he is a beast."

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Facing Bulldog Hanover will certainly provide a difficult task for Jimmy Freight, but Roy has tremendous confidence in his horse and said that the presence of "Bulldog" wouldn't affect his driving tactics. That said, you can expect they will hook up at some point in the mile and that could provide the fireworks.

"It's a very nice group [of horses]," said Roy, who steers Jimmy Freight from post two for trainer Richard Moreau and owners Let It Ride Stables and Jimmy Freight Stable. "You can just be happy for the racing fans; they should enjoy quite a show. It's gonna be a tough race and no one is a winner before the race."

Carded as race nine on a program that kicks off at 7:00 P.M. eastern time and contains seven stakes, including the co-featured C$610,000 Maple Leaf Trot, the Canadian Pacing Derby comprises not only the big two but also a number of prime contenders who will be ready to pounce should they falter.

Rockyroad Hanover (post one) may be coming off a disappointing fifth-place finish behind Jimmy Freight, but he remains the second-fastest horse of 2022 with a 1:46 2/5 mile and has finished just behind Bulldog Hanover on a number of occasions. Desperate Man (post six) went a brutal trip while first-over and only lost his elimination to Bulldog Hanover by 2 1/2 lengths. The Kathy Cecchin trainee is also one of just three horses - along with Linedrive Hanover and Dean B Hanover - to finish ahead of Bulldog Hanover this year.

Also speaking to the depth of the field is the fact that only two of the 10 finalists have earned under C$840K and seven have paced a winning mile of at least 1:48.

Will there be fireworks in the Canadian Pacing Derby? Will Bulldog Hanover continue his dominance? Will Jimmy Freight knock him off his perch as divisional leader?

These questions and more will be answered just past 10:00 PM on Saturday in Campbellville, Ontario.