WINDSOR, ON — A month-long lull in Ontario Sires Stakes engagements, an off track and an outside post did not seem to impact Alastor Hanover as he captured his sixth straight win last weekend and qualified for Sunday night’s $130,000 Gold Final at Windsor Raceway.

“I was a little concerned about drawing outside, and I was a little concerned about the track being off, but it seemed like he was all right,” says trainer Mark Ford of the colt’s 1:56.1 elimination victory.

The two-time Gold Final winner will defend his title from Post 7 on Sunday and Ford expects the rest of the two-year-old pacing colt field will be doing their best to halt Alastor Hanover’s win streak at six.

“This is a bunch of nice colts. It’s not going to be a cake walk, that’s for sure,” says Ford, who trains the colt for Vicki Fair of Bedford, PA. “I’d rather have drawn the two or three, but if he’s going to be the best, he’s going to have to earn it.”

So far this season the Rustler Hanover colt has been the best in seven of 11 starts, including three Gold Eliminations and two Gold Finals. His only loss since shipping north from Roger Hammer’s Pennsylvania-based stable came in the Gold Series season opener on June 28 at Kawartha Downs where he made a break and finished fifth.

“I knew he was a very, very nice colt and he’s just progressed; everything we’ve asked, he’s stepped right up,” says Ford, who resides in Slate Hill, NY but races a sizeable string on the Ontario circuit. “He’s done everything we could have expected.

“He came from Roger Hammer. Roger is a little sharper than your average bear, he had him ready. All we’ve had to do is baby sit him.”

Ford was literally cast into a baby sitting role over the last four weeks as Alastor Hanover was not eligible to any of the Grand Circuit stakes at Mohawk Racetrack. While many of his peers competed in the Nassagaweya, Champlain and Metro Stakes, the winner of $188,704 enjoyed a mid-season vacation.

“Maybe it was a little bit of a blessing in disguise. He hasn’t been beat up,” speculates Ford. “We didn’t stop him, he just didn’t race. We just trained him up good.”

The colt qualified on Sept. 16 in preparation for last week’s elimination round — posting a 12 length victory in 1:57.4 over a sloppy Mohawk oval — and seemed to bounce right back to the top of his game with his impressive elimination win.

Also impressive over Windsor’s rain soaked track last Sunday were the other elimination winners, Spokesman and Mister Big, who will start from Posts 2 and 5 in this weekend’s $130,000 contest.

Sitting one and two in the division ranking, Alastor Hanover and Spokesman have already clinched their spots in the season ending Super Final, but Mister Big will be looking for a top finish Sunday to move him into contention for one of ten spots in the $300,000 season finale.

Ontario’s gifted two-year-old pacing colts will square off in Race 10 on Sunday, with Windsor Raceway sending it’s first race behind the starting gate at 7 pm.

For a complete list of entries please go to:

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/ewrfsu.html#N10