Steelhead Hanover only got one crack at siring a crop of Maritime-bred pacers, but it looks like it is one that will be remembered.
Meridian Farms acquired the son of Bettors Delight for the 2017 breeding season but sadly had to humanely euthanize the horse part way through that season. His lone crop saw 25 foals born in the spring of 2018.
And what a dandy group of rookies they are with 16 of them already qualified.
Woodmere Stealdeal won his two-year-old pacing colt A division of the Atlantic Sires Stakes by open lengths in 1:57.1 last week in Summerside during Governor’s Plate week racing. Marc Campbell was in the bike behind the impressive youngster for trainer Danny Romo.
A fellow Steelhead Hanover, Steel Reefer, won the other $12,880 colt A split in 1:57.2 for trainer-driver Gilles Barrieau narrowly over yet another Steelhead Hanover, Mr Rielly. As action shifts to Truro, N.S., this week, a six-horse division of rookie colts has five Steelhead Hanovers in the mix.
Governor’s Plate
The 52nd edition of the Governor’s Plate is in the books with a truly Cinderella story. Summerside businessman Walter Simmons had been chasing his hometown race for decades with no success, only to win the $25,000 event with longshot Bugsy Maguire Saturday night after a perfect Brodie MacPhee steer in 1:54.1. Wade Sorrie trains the horse for the 95-year-old Simmons.
Time To Dance (Adam Merner) got checked up a couple times in the last quarter and still managed to finish second at 36-1 odds and likely would have been closer to the winner otherwise. Defending champion Rose Run Quest (Campbell) was third.
Grand Circuit Week
Action shifts to the Truro Raceway in Bible Hill, N.S., for Grand Circuit week action. The two- and three-year-old trotters and the two-year-old pacing fillies competed Tuesday night. Tonight will see three $20,000 divisions of the Frank and Beth Stanfield memorial for three-year-old pacing fillies, along with the Atlantic Sires Stakes for two-year-old pacing colts.
Saturday will feature the Atlantic Sires Stakes for three-year-old pacing colts and a $6,039 Atlantic aged pacing mares leg, as well as the $7,500 Lindsay Construction Cup invitational. The invitational has another nice field, including Yankee Osborne, who was taken to Cape Breton from Ontario by Neil MacInnis, who subsequently isolated for 14 days. MacInnis is now back in the world and has drawn Post 1 with Yankee Osborne, who is a hopeful for the Gold Cup and Saucer next month in Charlottetown.
The field also has Simple Kinda Man (Jason Hughes), Avatar J (Barrieau), Time To Dance (Merner), Euchred (Redmond Doucet), Rose Run Quest (Campbell) and Screen Test (MacPherson).
Nick’s picks
Post time is Saturday at 6 p.m. at Red Shores at the Charlottetown Driving Park:
- Race 1 – Lord And Legend
- Race 2 – Arnoldthepaperboy
- Race 3 – Montysgonemarble
- Race 4 – Smiley Bayama
- Race 5 – Fern Hill Dynamic
- Race 6 – Ashes To Ashes
- Race 7 – Watts Of Attitude
- Race 8 – Rockin Indy
- Race 9 – Silver Beast
- Race 10 – Lisburn
- Race 11 – Mick Dundee
Nicholas Oakes' column appears in The Guardian each Friday. He can be reached at [email protected].
