After a commendable fourth-place finish in the $100,000 Gold Cup at Woodbine Mohawk Park last week, Blue Hunt showcased his resilience by claiming victory in the featured $28,000 conditioned pace on Saturday (June 22) evening at the Campbellville oval. The impressive performance saw him clocking in at 1:48.4.
Blue Hunt, driven by Ed Hensley, started the mile on the outside, securing a fourth-place position early on. Dupree Hanover, driven by Doug McNair, set the initial pace with a swift opening quarter of :26.3, only to be overtaken by Clever Cody and Sylvain Filion. As Clever Cody reached the half-mile mark in :54.1, Blue Hunt began his ascent on the outside.
Approaching the three-quarters mark, Blue Hunt managed to find space near the pylons for the first time, leading the pack with a time of 1:21. He then opened up a significant lead of 3-1/2 lengths. Despite a fierce challenge from millionaire American History, driven by Dale Spence, Blue Hunt maintained his pace, eventually winning by three-quarters of a length. American History finished second, with Control Heaven, driven by Tyler Borth, taking third place.
The four-year-old gelded son of Huntsville and All On Top Hanover (Betterthancheddar) secured his third win out of 15 starts this season, adding $77,058 to his earnings, which now total $363,779 in his four-year-old campaign. Blue Hunt’s career record improved to 9-7-4 from 46 starts. As the bettors' choice, he returned $6.30 to his backers.