Oak Grove, KY — Per Engblom pupil Cecil Hanover, escaping the clutches of Ponda Jet following a runner-up finish in the top class last time, went down the road out of his assigned wide draw to post an easy 1:54.2 victory in the $30,000 Open Handicap Trot at Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel on Tuesday (April 14).
Leaving from post 7, driver Devon Tharps hustled Cecil Hanover to the fore and built a comfortable lead through a :27.2 first quarter. No challengers loomed on the march to the half, leaving Tharps to coast on the point and grab a solid breather to a :58.1 half before hitting the accelerator in the backstretch. Cecil Hanover quickened and maintained a healthy advantage to three-quarters in 1:26, shutting the door on his rivals and coasting in a 2-1/2-length winner.
Little Expensive (driven by Tyler Miller) charged furiously from off the speed in his seasonal bow to take second while pocket-sitter Herecomesdajudge (Marcus Miller) gave chase in third. Yo Sheldon (Zyler Maxwell) sat a ground-saving trip for fourth.
A 6-year-old gelding by Chapter Seven, Cecil Hanover has now won three races from eight starts this season and 17 races from 53 starts in his career, earning $693,995. He competes for owners FAC Racing LLC, Yannick Gingras and Jaiden Gingras and returned $4.62 to win.
Live racing at Oak Grove resumes on Monday (April 20). First-race post time at Oak Grove is 1:10 p.m. (CDT).