Sylvia Hanover upsets Twin B Joe Fresh in Perfect Sting

The doll of her class as a 2- and 3-year-old, Sylvia Hanover endured many defeats as Twin B Joe Fresh claimed the crown in the 4-year-old campaign in progress to a Horse of the Year title. But Sylvia Hanover returned in the fourth start of her 5-year-old season and landed a serious wallop on 1-9 chalk Twin B Joe Fresh to pull a stunner in the $116,500 Perfect Sting Mare Pace on Saturday night (June 28) at The Meadowlands.

Leaving from the pylon post, driver Tim Tetrick charged Sylvia Hanover to the fore and endured pressure from Aardie B Miki N through a :26 first quarter before caving for a pocket ride. Tetrick then found himself shuffled to third when My Girl EJ swooped from a forward seat to the front of the train before a :53.4 half. Twin B Joe Fresh meanwhile raced fourth and angled first-up for a steady grind through the final turn.

Twin B Joe Fresh inched to within a length of My Girl EJ coming to three-quarters in 1:21.3 while Tetrick had room to swing into the second-over seat with Sylvia Hanover in the turn for home. Twin B Joe Fresh reached forward for the lead as Tetrick launched to the center of the track with Sylvia Hanover, and within a matter of strides she bolted past the reigning divisional champ to score a 10-1 shock going away by two lengths in a 1:48.2 mile. My Girl EJ settled for third and Valar Dohaeris closed for fourth.

“She’s just a great horse,” winning driver Tim Tetrick said after the race. “She overcomes bad drives and she’s tough. Speed doesn’t really bother her – she’s big, strong and can carry it. I went hard to the quarter to make sure they had plenty of speed, and I think she’s just better if she wears them all out. That was just my theory on it, and it continued to work.”

Mark Steacy trains Sylvia Hanover, a 5-year-old mare by Always B Miki, for owner Hudson Standardbred Stable Inc. She won her 23rd race from 43 starts, has now earned $1.92 million and paid $23.80 to win.