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Red River Hanover Sets 1:48.4 Track
Record
By Tom White
Red River Hanover overpowered stablemate Mach Three to win the $1,500,000
Pepsi North America Cup in track and stakes record time Saturday night at
Woodbine Raceway. The son of Western Hanover, driven by Luc Oulette for
trainer Bill Robinson, won by two lengths in 1:48.4, a full second faster
than The Panderosa's 1999 Cup win. McArdle finished third.
"It was a great trip," said Oulette. "He went
into this race really
ready. He's a great athlete. He got to the racetrack and his ears were up.
Honestly, he felt a little cocky. He just felt good. He just never gets
tired."
Robinson added, "He's right on his game. Mach
Three gave him a good
fight, but he's just too good right now. We were pretty careful with him
last
year because he had too much speed."
This was Red River Hanover's 12th win in 18 starts for
Lothlorien
Equestrian Centre of Mississauga, Ont. and Jeffrey Snyder of New York
City.
Red River Hanover now is the only three-year-old eligible to the $1
million
Grand Slam Bonus which would be paid to his owners if he goes on to sweep
the
Meadowlands Pace, Little Brown Jug and Breeders Crown. Three North America
Cup winners have won the Little Brown Jug, Bettor's Delight last year and
Precious Bunny (1991) and Goalie Jeff (1989). The 57th Little Brown Jug
will
be raced Thursday afternoon, September 19th at the Delaware, Ohio County
Fair.
Also, at Woodbine, Henry Clay captured the $100,000
North America Cup
Consolation, coming from six lengths back at the three-quarters, to defeat
Million Dollar Cam and Allamerican Ingot.
At Lexington's Red Mile, Image Of Dawn scored a 1:50.4
victory in the
fastest of three $10,000 Kentucky Spring Championship eliminations. The
other
winners were Life Is A Cabaret in 1:52.1 and I Give Diamonds in
1:53. All
three winners are eligible to the Jug. The top three finishers in each
elim
return next Saturday for the $80,000 Championship.
In addition to the Spring Championship Final at The Red
Mile, other
three-year-old stakes this coming weekend are the $110,000 Historic-Jersey
Cup at The Meadowlands and the $15,000 Motor City eliminations at Hazel
Park.
Click here for Road to the Jug Results.
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