He found another gear when it mattered most
On a Sunday afternoon at Flamboro Downs, a horse named Prince Hal Hanover emerged from early chaos to claim the Charles Juravinski Memorial Cup — a race that honors a man who helped build the very track beneath his hooves. The victory, his third straight at age four, was earned not through ease but through the particular grace of a competitor who finds his best self precisely when the pressure is greatest. In the longer arc of sport and human endeavor, such moments remind us that greatness is less about avoiding adversity than about what one does when adversity refuses to yield.
- Boxed in at the first turn with nowhere to go, Prince Hal Hanover faced the kind of early trouble that ends lesser horses' afternoons before they begin.
- Canadian record-holder Bruno No No No caught him at the half-mile and refused to let go, turning the backstretch into a prolonged, grinding duel that had the crowd on its feet.
- Driver Todd McCarthy kept threading his horse forward, trusting in a reserve of speed that hadn't yet been asked for — and that reserve answered when it mattered most.
- Prince Hal Hanover crossed the wire a length clear in 1:50 flat, his third win in a row at four, his career earnings now standing at $1.74 million across 13 victories in 34 starts.
- The supporting card brought its own drama, as two 10-to-1 longshots crashed the Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots opener, signaling that the sophomore trotting season will be anything but predictable.
Prince Hal Hanover found himself in trouble almost immediately — boxed behind a retreating rival at the first turn of the $259,500 Charles Juravinski Memorial Cup at Flamboro Downs. Driver Todd McCarthy didn't panic. He threaded his horse through the traffic and into the lead by the quarter-mile, setting the stage for what would become one of the afternoon's defining contests.
Bruno No No No, fresh off a track and Canadian record in his elimination heat, was never far behind. He caught Prince Hal Hanover past the half-mile and pressed him relentlessly down the backstretch, the two horses trading momentum for the better part of three-quarters of a mile. Sugar Man lurked in the pocket, waiting for an opening that never came. When they hit the stretch, Prince Hal Hanover simply found another gear — crossing the wire a length clear in 1:50 flat, with Sugar Man second after an inquiry and Bruno No No No, for all his record-setting credentials, settling for third.
The win was Prince Hal Hanover's third straight at age four, following a Juravinski elimination victory and a win in the Pacey Mindlin Memorial at Miami Valley on May 2. The son of Captaintreacherous-Percy Bluechip, trained by Dr. Ian Moore for Prince Hal Hanover Stable of Cambridge, Ontario, has now won 13 of 34 career starts and earned $1,743,633. His four-year-old campaign adds a new chapter to a résumé that already included the Adios Pace and Milstein Memorial — but consistency against a field that included a Canadian record-holder speaks to something rarer than speed alone.
The Juravinski Memorial carries its own history. Once known as the Confederation Cup, it was renamed in 2022 to honor Charles Juravinski, the late co-founder of Flamboro Downs. Winning it places Prince Hal Hanover in meaningful company on the Ontario harness racing calendar.
The Sunday card also opened the Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots series for three-year-old trotting fillies, where driver Todd Ratchford and trainer Matt Bax combined for two 10-to-1 upsets. Upgrade broke her maiden in her 15th start after the favorite broke stride, while Acrobatic led wire-to-wire in the second division. Elbows Up completed the first leg at 2-to-1. Finals are set for October 3, with the next leg for sophomore male pacers coming May 22 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Prince Hal Hanover found himself boxed in at the first turn on Sunday afternoon at Flamboro Downs, caught behind the retreating Fifth And Five with nowhere to go. But driver Todd McCarthy kept his horse moving, threading him through traffic and into the lead by the quarter-mile in 27.1 seconds. What followed was a two-horse war that would define the $259,500 Grade 2 Charles Juravinski Memorial Cup for four-year-olds.
Bruno No No No, the newly minted Canadian record-holder who had blazed through his elimination heat just days earlier, was already charging. He caught Prince Hal Hanover just past the half-mile mark in 55.1 seconds and pressed him hard down the backstretch. For the next three-quarters of a mile, the two horses traded momentum like boxers in a phone booth. Prince Hal Hanover would open a gap; Bruno No No No would close it. They rounded the final turn locked together, neither willing to yield, with Sugar Man lurking in the pocket behind them waiting for an opening that never came.
Down the stretch they came, Prince Hal Hanover and Bruno No No No, the crowd on its feet. Prince Hal Hanover found another gear when it mattered most, neutralizing his rival and the pocket-sitter both to cross the wire a length clear in 1:50 flat. Sugar Man got second after an inquiry was conducted and upheld. Bruno No No No, for all his record-setting speed, had to settle for third.
It was Prince Hal Hanover's third consecutive victory at age four. Two weeks earlier he had won his Juravinski elimination; before that, he'd taken the Pacey Mindlin Memorial at Miami Valley Raceway on May 2. The son of Captaintreacherous-Percy Bluechip, trained by Dr. Ian Moore for Prince Hal Hanover Stable of Cambridge, Ontario, has now won 13 times in 34 career starts and banked $1,743,633. He paid $5.10 to win.
The horse's record last year—victories in the Adios Pace and Milstein Memorial—had already marked him as something special. But consistency at the four-year-old level, especially against a field that included a Canadian record-holder, speaks to a different kind of quality: the ability to find another gear when the pressure is highest and the moment is largest.
The Juravinski Memorial itself carries its own weight. Originally known as the Confederation Cup, it was renamed in 2022 to honor Charles Juravinski, the late co-founder of Flamboro Downs who passed away that year. The race has become one of the marquee events on the Ontario harness racing calendar, and winning it at four years old puts Prince Hal Hanover in company with some of the sport's better horses.
The Sunday card at Flamboro also marked the opening of the Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots series, where three divisions of three-year-old trotting fillies competed for $25,000 each. Driver Todd Ratchford and trainer Matt Bax combined for two 10-to-1 upsets. Upgrade, a $416,667 purchase from Harrisburg, broke her maiden in her 15th lifetime start, inheriting the lead after the favorite Kenogami Fancy broke stride and pulling clear to win by two and a quarter lengths in 1:56.3. Acrobatic, a homebred out of Circus Girl, took the second division wire-to-wire, leading from the opening turn and cruising home by three-quarters of a length in 1:57. Elbows Up, at 2-to-1, completed the first leg with a 1:58.1 victory.
The Grassroots series will continue through October, with finals scheduled for October 3. The next leg for sophomore male pacers is set for May 22 at Woodbine Mohawk Park. For now, though, the story belongs to Prince Hal Hanover and the kind of stretch battle that reminds everyone why harness racing, at its best, is a sport of nerve and timing and the will to find one more gear when everything is on the line.
Notable Quotes
Prince Hal Hanover is perfect in three starts at age four after winning the Pacey Mindlin Memorial at Miami Valley Raceway on May 2 and his Juravinski elimination a week ago.— Race record
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
What made that first-turn scramble so significant? It could have ended the race right there.
Exactly. Most horses get jammed up like that and they lose momentum, lose position, lose confidence. McCarthy kept him moving laterally, kept him alive. That's the difference between a good drive and a great one.
And then Bruno No No No—a Canadian record-holder—couldn't quite get past him down the stretch. Why does that matter?
Because Bruno No No No had already proven he was the fastest horse in the race. He set a track record in his elimination. But speed in a trial heat and speed when it counts are two different things. Prince Hal Hanover showed he could handle pressure.
The race was decided by a length. How close was it really?
Close enough that they had to conduct an inquiry on the second-place finisher. That's how tight the margins were. In a race like this, a length is the difference between a $259,500 payday and going home empty.
This is his third straight win at four. Is that the beginning of something?
It suggests he's matured into a horse that can win when it matters. Last year he won the Adios and the Milstein. Now he's beating record-holders in Grade 2 company. That's the trajectory of a horse people will remember.
What about the Grassroots series starting the same day? Does that get overshadowed?
It's a different story for a different audience. The Juravinski is the main event, the Grade 2 stakes race. But Grassroots is where the next generation proves itself. Both matter, just at different scales.