by Jeff Renton, media/communications, the Woodbine Entertainment Group
Toronto, ON — Cabrini Hanover, the high profile daughter of Western Ideal, was sparkling in the C$702,100 final of the She’s A Great Lady for two-year-old pacing fillies on Saturday at Woodbine, pacing to a 1:51 world, stakes and track record for driver Mike Lachance.
Out of the Run The Table mare Cathedra, Cabrini Hanover, who is conditioned by Jimmy Takter, defeated both Fox Valley Shaker (George Brennan) and Art’s Risk (Luc Ouellette) by one and three-quarter lengths. Show Time (Jack Moiseyev) finished fourth and Righteous Renee (David Miller) was fifth.
Now perfect in her four career starts, Cabrini Hanover went straight to the top from post two and cut fractions of :26, :543 and 1:231 before coming home in :264 for the wire-to-wire victory.
“It was a big improvement on her tonight,” said Lachance, amid a large group in the winner’s circle. “Last week she was a little rough in the last turn and they made a couple of changes with her shoeing and equipment and she was almost 100 per cent tonight.
“Right away behind the gate she was so slick gaited and I know she is very powerful. I went to the half with her a little too much, but I got her going to the quarter and I couldn’t back her up too much, so I went to the half and let her maintain a nice pace instead of fight her too much.”
A $350,000 sale-topping purchase at the 2003 Standardbred Horse Sale in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Cabrini Hanover, a Robert Stewart Stakes winner, is owned by St. Thomas, Ontario’s Bob Anderson and King City, Ontario’s David Willmot. The bay has now earned a staggering $327,554 from her four starts.
“She’s what we call a ‘daisy cutter,’” continued Lachance. “She paces low to the ground, but she’s tough and has a good set of lungs; she can go forever.”
Bunny Lake takes the C$376,500 Roses Are Red in 1:49
Bunny Lake put her tenacity on display for the Woodbine faithful Saturday night, as she put in an electrifying 1:49 wire-to-wire performance while taking the C$376,500 Roses Are Red Stakes for the second straight year, this time in a stakes record time.
Competing against a tremendous group of pacing mares, the John Stark, Jr.-trained and Luc Ouellette-driven Bunny Lake notched her 47th career victory, scoring by a quarter length over Please Me Please (Jack Moiseyev) and two lengths ahead of Jasper Avenue (Paul MacDonell). Burning Point (Kevin Wallis) was fourth and Always Cam (David Miller) was fifth.
Leaving from post three, Bunny Lake, the heralded six-year-old daughter of Precious Bunny–Lake Nona, blazed to the first call in an incredible :252. Parking out Lookettepoedunk, who never saw the cones for the duration of her trip, Bunny Lake rocketed to the half in an unbelievable :523. Cooling the tempo slightly, Bunny Lake headed for the lane after spinning off a 1:22 third-quarter time. Not to be stopped on this night, Bunny Lake repelled all comers and marched home for yet another exceptional triumph.
The win time lowered the stakes record (1:494, set in 2000 by French Panicure) by four-fifths of a second.
“You could see that I was sitting very comfortably (at the half),” Ouellette said despite the hot fractions. “She’s a very exceptional mare. I knew I had Kevin Wallis (Burning Point) on my back and that was a concern. But, I had a dead horse (Lookettepoedunk) on the outside and I knew I was going to slow (down) the third quarter and take advantage of that. That was the only thing that we could take advantage of.”
Owned by New York’s W Springtime Racing Stable and John Stark, Jr., Bunny Lake put in her second consecutive 1:49 mile; just one-fifth of a second off of the world record.
“To tell you the truth she dragged me out of there and we paced around the two horse (Burning Point) and that was my main concern,” continued Ouellette. “She was just too good to let (Lookettepoedunk) go and retake and do all that stuff. It was going to be easier on her to just keep going and take a third-quarter breather.”
With the pair of 75-1 shots in the mix, Bunny Lake ($3.40) topped a $130.80 exactor and a $1,284.20 triactor.
Rocknroll Hanover sets world mark in Metro
Rocknroll Hanover set a world record of 1:494 for two-year-old pacing colts with a shocking upset in the C$1,211,800 Metro Pace on Saturday at Woodbine.
Leaving from the seven hole and rocketing to the front, getting the first quarter in :254, the 31-1 longshot, with Brian Sears at the controls, was then allowed to settle in the pocket behind the 6-5 favourite Village Jolt, who took over before the half in :541.
Village Jolt and driver Ron Pierce reached the three-quarters in 1:222, but were suddenly challenged by the pocket sitter in mid-stretch. After a brief tussle, Rocknroll Hanover, a son of Western Ideal, motored on by to win by one length, while Village Jolt managed to hang on for second, a head in front of closer Shanghai Phil, a 49-1 outsider.
The winning time was one-fifth of a second faster than the former world mark of 1:50, set by Western Shooter in 2001 at the Meadowlands.
It was the second win in five starts for Rocknroll Hanover, trained by Brett Pelling for owners Jeffrey Snyder of New York and the Lothlorien Equestrian Centre of Mississauga.
“Brett talked to me earlier in the week and asked me if I’d come up to drive him,” said Sears. “He really had a lot of confidence in the colt. He definitely gave me the green light to leave if I wanted to. He’s a colt that hasn’t been left with hard early (before). He passed a lot of horses last week from a tough spot and he responded (tonight) with a trip.”
“Obviously he’s progressed very well,” continued Sears, about the colt he’d driven in his first two starts. “He’s peaked at the right time. After I let Ronnie go, at the head of the lane I thought he should have a little bit of pace because I hadn’t called on him yet. And when I did, he responded. It’s a great thing (to set a world record).”
Ironically, on a night when one of his offspring established a world mark, Western Ideal’s Canadian Pacing Derby stakes record of 1:49, set in 2000, was eclipsed by Casimir Camotion, as that four-year-old gelding won in a track record equalling time of 1:483 earlier in the card.
Rocknroll Hanover picked up a check of $466,543 in the continent’s richest race for two-year-old pacers, a far cry from the modest $7,674 he’d earned coming into the Metro. Last week, he’d finished third to Oliver Jackson in one of the four Metro elims, but was fortunate enough to draw into the final as one of two third place finishers.
Rocknroll Hanover, who of course also eclipsed the Metro Stakes mark of 1:51 set by Pro Bono Best in 2000, paid $64.20, $16.40 and $12.50, combining with Village Jolt ($3.50, $2.80) for a $356.30 (7-1) exactor. The 7-1-6 (Shanghai Phil, $8.10 to show) triactor fashioned a huge $5,711.90 payout.
A stakes record for Casimir Camotion in Canadian Pacing Derby
Casimir Camotion, trained and driven by Patrick Lachance, set a stakes record for the C$920,000 Canadian Pacing Derby on Saturday at Woodbine, sprinting down the lane to an easy one and one-half length win in 1:483.
Not only did Casimir Camotion shatter the former stakes mark of 1:49, set by Western Ideal in 2000, but it was also a career best for the four-year-old gelded son of Camluck.
At the finish of the 62nd edition of Canada’s oldest harness stakes race, Casimir Camotion had also equalled the Woodbine track record held by three others.
Royal Mattjesty and driver John Campbell wound up second, holding off longshot Peruvian Hanover, while the 8-5 favourite, Boulder Creek, faded down the stretch to finish fifth after making a bold move off the far turn in challenging the leader.
Owned by M and M Harness Racing LLC of Suffern, New York, Casimir Camotion was an C$85,000 supplemental nominee to the ‘Derby’, but he recouped that investment in a blink of an eye, taking home $354,200 for the win, more than doubling his career earnings to $670,990.
“This is definitely the highlight of my career,” said Lachance, the 28-year-old son of Hall of Fame driver Mike Lachance. “He’s just a nice horse. You can race him either way. He’s such a handy horse. And he showed up tonight. I just shouted at him a little bit (down the stretch), but he did it on his own.”
Casimir Camotion, like Boulder Creek, took his elimination last week in 1:512 over a sloppy track, an effort which set him up for Saturday night’s record-setting performance.
It was his 10th win in 24 starts this season, a busy but productive campaign after having raced only 11 times as a three-year-old.
As the 2-1 second choice, Casimir Camotion returned $6.30, $4.10 and $3.60, combining with Royal Mattjesty ($5.40, $4.80) for a $31.00 (3-5) exactor. A 3-5-4 (Peruvian Hanover, $6.40 to show) triactor was worth $205.20.
–Jeff Timson also contributed to this story