MILTON, July 28, 2018 – A freshened up Dr J Hanover returned to the races Saturday to capture the $34,000 Preferred Pace at Woodbine Mohawk Park. The five-year-old Tony Alagna trainee was making his first start since June 9 and got the better of seven-rivals to post a 1:49.4 victory. Driven by Sylvain Filion, Dr J Hanover paced out to the early lead and posted sensible opening fractions of :27.1 and :56. Easy Lover Hanover, the 3/5 favourite, angled out from fourth nearing the half and made a strong rush towards the lead, hooking up with the early-leader for a far turn battle. Easy Lover Hanover finally cleared the lead after five-eighths of a mile was completed and posted a huge individual third-quarter of :26.1 to reach the third-station in 1:22.2. In the stretch, Dr J Hanover showed no signs of being short and came to the outside in the final-eighth to power by Easy Lover Hanover for a length and a half score. Nirvana Seelster finished third, while Traceur Hanover was fourth. The one-two finish by ‘Dr J’ and ‘Easy Lover’ gave owner Brad Grant the Exacta, as he co-owns the winner and is the sole owner of the runner-up. Robert LeBlanc, Steven Wienick and Irwin Samelman share ownership of Dr J Hanover with Grant. A five-year-old gelding, Dr J Hanover was making his 11th start of the season Saturday. The Alagna trainee now has four wins and $143,600 earned this season. Dr J Hanover, a now 17-time winner with over $650,000 in career earnings, made headlines last season at Mohawk Park when he won a division of the Graduate Series in 1:46.4, the fastest mile in Canadian harness racing history. A $2 win ticket on Dr J Hanover returned $14. Live racing resumes Monday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park. The opening-leg of the Dream Maker Series for two-year-old pacers highlights an 11-race card. Post time is 7:30 p.m. Share This:Share
