Woodbine Mohawk Park: No catching Bulldog Hanover in Canadian Pacing Derby

The Summer of Bulldog Hanover continued unabated in the C$650,000 Canadian Pacing Derby for free-for-allers on Saturday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park, with harness racing's top-rated horse racking up his ninth straight win and equaling Canada's all-time fastest mile with a 1:46 4/5 performance.

Poseidon Seelster (Bob McClure) and Tattoo Artist (James MacDonald) left hard from posts five and eight, but Bulldog Hanover moved up to their outside and cleared Tattoo Artist for the top spot after a 26 3/5 opening quarter. Bulldog Hanover was then unchallenged through a 54 3/5 half, but Jimmy Freight (Louis-Philippe Roy) tried his luck first-over out of fourth on the last turn.

After he was brought off the pylons, Jimmy Freight couldn't really make any headway on the outside in a rapid panel that saw three-quarters go on the board in 1:21 1/5, and that pretty much left the race to be decided between Bulldog Hanover and Tattoo Artist. Tattoo Artist gave game chase, but he just couldn't get there, with Bulldog Hanover pacing a 25 3/5 final quarter to win by a length. Poseidon Seelster held third, followed by Jimmy Freight and Desperate Man (Trevor Henry).

The time matched Dr J Hanover's Canadian standard established on June 3, 2017 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

"He's going to be at the top," Dunn said when asked where Bulldog Hanover ranked among the horses he's driven. "What he's doing is just amazing this year. I think the way he does it as well, there's no easy trips for him. He does all the hard work in those big races. He's running away from good horses. Tattoo Artist stuck with him good tonight, but he's just an amazing animal.

"I actually was very surprised how handy we got away without doing too much work, to be honest. I thought there'd be a few more leavers. After an eighth of the race, I was pretty happy where I ended up."

Jack Darling trains and co-owns Bulldog Hanover, a 4-year-old son of Shadow Play, with partner Brad Grant. Bulldog Hanover has a record of 24-3-1 from 32 career starts, he has now pocketed C$1,958,696, and he paid $2.20 to win as the 1-9 favorite.

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"It's great to have the family here, and the fans here. This horse, he's really got a fanbase out there, and so many people are cheering for him. It's just an honor to be involved with him and be part of it," remarked Darling. "I've had calls from all over the United States, people that want Bulldog Hanover t-shirts. It's just a real thrill.

"He's got a busy schedule. He's got four races in the next five weeks - two in Ohio (the Ewart at Scioto and the Dayton Pacing Derby at Hollywood Dayton), one in Indiana (the Hoosier Park Pacing Derby), and then Lexington. We'll just go day-by-day to see which ones we'll go in, if we'll go in them all. I know the Ohio fans, they're great harness racing fans, so I know they want to see him. We'll do our best to get down there."

Grant was also in the winner's circle and was delighted with another outstanding performance from the horse.

"It's great. To have a horse like this, or to be part of a horse like this, I don't think I've got words to say how good it is," he offered. "Well, I think on the right day, right track, Lexington, I think Dexter said it last week, 'you never know,' or Jack said it, 'if everything's right, maybe he can go better.'"