Hall of Fame Inductee, 2023
Standardbred Male Horse
Bulldog Hanover will be remembered not only for his unprecedented on-track performances during the 2022 racing season, but also for the incredible amount of awareness and publicity he generated for the sport as an ambassador of harness racing.
Sired by 2022 CHRHF Inductee Shadow Play and out of Artsplace mare BJs Squall, Bulldog Hanover was purchased by CHRHF 2022 Trainer Inductee, Jack Darling, for $28,000 at the 2019 Harrisburg Black Book Sale. During his two-year-old season, he won four of six starts, including the Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Super Final, with Jody Jamieson as his primary driver.
Before the beginning of his three-year-old season, Brad Grant was added to his ownership as a partner. Bulldog Hanover scored victories in three Ontario Sires Stakes Gold leg wins in July and August. He stepped into Grand Circuit competition with wins in the Somebeachsomewhere Stakes and a North America Cup elimination, again with Jamieson at the lines, before rounding out his sophomore year with four consecutive wins at Hoosier Park in the Monument Circle, Star Destroyer Pace, Circle City Pace and the Thanksgiving Classic, just a glimpse of what was to come.
No horse could match what Bulldog Hanover did over the course of 2022. He captured the hearts of harness racing fans across the continent, becoming the fastest Standardbred in the sport’s history when he stopped the clock in 1:45.4 in the William R. Haughton Memorial at The Meadowlands on July 16 for driver, Dexter Dunn.
During the season, “Bulldog” won 14 races in 16 starts which was good for more than $1.8 million in earnings for co-owner and trainer, Jack Darling, and partner Brad Grant, making him the richest Standardbred of 2022. Dexter Dunn and Jody Jamieson handled the driving duties, and John Mallia was the horse’s caretaker.
Bulldog Hanover boasted an impressive resume of accomplishments including victories in the Dan Patch Stakes, Hoosier Pacing Derby, Dayton Pacing Derby, and the TVG. At Woodbine Mohawk Park, he dazzled the racing community and fans with his spectacular victories in the Canadian Pacing Derby and the Breeders Crown, both timed in a Canadian record-equaling 1:46.4.
On November 26, “Bulldog” put a punctuation mark on his season and racing career with a dominant victory in the TVG Series Open Pace at the Meadowlands, lowering the previous stakes record of 1:48.
He won Horse of the Year honours in Canada and unanimous Horse of the Year honours in the US and was recognized as the 2022 Cam Fella Award recipient at the O’Brien Awards for his accomplishments in the industry.
The Hanover Shoe Farms-bred son of Shadow Play – BJs Squall retired with 28 wins in 37 races, lifetime earnings of $2.78 million, four of the nine fastest race miles in history and a record total of six wins in under 1:47. He is now standing stud at Seelster Farms in Ontario, for partners Darling, Grant and Diamond Creek Farms.
Bulldog Hanover – a once in a lifetime horse that will be missed on the racetrack but will be remembered for years to come!