Sugarcane Hanover -- 1988 March of Dimes Trot

Sugarcane Hanover upsets top trotters Mack Lobell and Ourasi in the 1988 March of Dimes Trot at Garden State Park. Video courtesy of Jack Elliott at www.colorigination.com.

[@AlBergstein]

One of the greatest and most exciting harness races I've ever seen. My dad thought so also. A real horse race with some of the greatest trotters of the 80s if not of the last century.

[@JETPHIL77]

Ourasi, the best French Trotter of the 20th Century (if not the best ever)... our beloved "Lazy King" (becaused he was used to make the minimal effort during trainning and races) was not the "french poltron" described in US : he had to cross the pond before running this race made for his US rival Mack Lobell who was then considered as invincible... and wasn't after. I would have liked to see the same runners in our Grand Prix d'Amérique (2700m), on the "hell runway" of Vincennes near Paris. Ourasi is still the only one who has won it 4 times (1986, 1987, 1988, 1990). He passed away at almost 33, in january 2013. RIP, "Lazy King"...

[@brianjschumer]

JETPHIL77 I agree Ourasi was great and Ive seen some great French horses manhandle US trotters. The French.. paddock raise their baby horses in the fields, it's thought it makes them a little bigger and stronger and they usually don't race them until later on 4-5 yrs old is normal . Mack Lobell was not the same horse after coming back from Sweden and beating every top European horse in the Elittlopp. If you're familiar with Macks father Mystic Park, he was extremely fast horse who had to be retired to stud early as he had really bad hocks and sesamoid problems. From what I understand Mack started to get some of these problems as well after a hard 3 yr old campaign. This race was held in the fall and it was fairly cold. I don't think there was a trotter horse alive who could have beat Mack in a mile.. early in his three-year-old campaign..Just my opinion..

[@brianjschumer]

JETPHIL77 I disagree, yes Ourasi was fantastic and I watch alot of racing. I saw GoGet lost on the NJ Sire stakes in his first few wins (15+lengths). .Mack was not the same horse when he came back from Europe, he suffereed the same maladies as his dad did, (Mystic Park) who was just as fast but soundness did him in.. when Mack was right, I don't think there was a horse who could ever beat him at a mile race, that was his distance to own, I do believe in a longer race Ourasi could have taken him, but when he was right at a mile no Trotter could (ever) have beaten him..He was ahead of his time..I also think Vareene was closest to Mack as I have seen.

[@salvatoregermana1881]

Varenne close to Mack? It's a nonsense! Varenne won in Italy, United States (Breeders Crown), France (Two Amerique), Sweden, Finland (World record), . He won in 1600 Races and 2700. Who is Mack Lobell?

[@suatkayatennis]

@@brianjschumer I totally agree with you, nice post.

[@litogor]

@@brianjschumer Ourasi had never run such a short distance in his life and he came to the US out of obligation after provocations in the American press. Understand one thing: If Ourasi defeated Mack Lobell despite all the disasters, it's because he's simply the best trotter of all time! Mack Lobell and Sugarcane Hanover would never have dared to go face Ourasi on a French distance otherwise they would have been humiliated and would have been relegated in the distance ....

[@watchingponies]

My fav horse in the field is Mack Lobell. Winner of Elitloppet and Hambletonian. Still going strong in Sweden... I was fortunate to meet him last may.

[@kurtsugg3455]

Was the best race I even seen and still is.

[@BCTMarcus]

Great memories of this legendary race. Ourasi was a diesel. Mack Lobell was a sprinter. Sugarcane Hanover had 10 gears (or more). And Napoletano was a great horse, too! And No Sex Please must have been a gelding, right? And I named my cat after Friendly Face, isn' that interesting? ;-) What a race, what a field of horses. Mind you, Ourasi is still alive, hoping to celebrate his 32nd birthday in April. Thumbs up for the old hero's health!

[@brianjschumer]

Scenic Regal got up for fourth or Fifth , her owner Trainer, Harold Story was asked, are you disapointed?..he said, "hell no", against this group, i will take it!! She had won about 9 or 10 in a row at Yonkers Raceway and untouchable

[@Boubouestheureux]

Yesterday 12/01/13, OURASI is dead ... A lot of thanks for this great Champion, Congratulations, you will stay as the best champion. From France

[@jamsid33]

the best harness race in the history of the sport

[@c1duce]

did i hear him call scenic regal in there? what a great group of horses

[@brianjschumer]

c1duce Best field of trotters I ever saw..they asked Harold Story if he was disappointed in Scenic Regals finish, he said :are you kidding, I got a check going against the best field of trotters maybe ever assembled..jfi: She would win week after week over at Roosevelt /Yonkers half miler against local FFA, she was the queen at that time.

[@aiissah8608]

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[@herralexugo]

if the race would have taken place at vincennes ourasi would have destroyed them on this infernal track , the one and only "Lazy King"

[@davidebisato4065]

LA SFIDA DEL SECOLO

[@abetts00]

That was an absolute slugfest. SCH goes three wide then throttles down and gets passed so he is second over instead of first over. You never see that sort of driving any more.

[@fnils8819]

In Sweden You do

[@pequatre]

Ourasi was the best, it has to raise the defi by going to trot in used(wore out), not ca prefere, with the hourly decalage, according to the conditions outstrip lobell Why ever lobell or sugarcane (France, Germany in ........) has to dare to go in Europe simply parcequ' they did not have the level or they became afraid????????????????????????? HAVE pleased never seen lobell apres this running(race) the best ourasi of the UNIVERSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@fnils8819]

And so did Sugercane Hanover..

[@ramierechristiane]

Quelle course ! Celui qui a gagné a profité du duel entre Ourasi et Mack Lobell comme c'est souvent le cas. Cette course m'a rappelé celle qui a opposé Nevele Pride à Une de Mai. Comme Mack Lobell, Nevele Pride était considéré comme invincible. Et pourtant, tous deux ont été battus. Ourasi, à mon avis aura été le plus grand trotteur du siècle dernier. Ce trotteur était capable de courir sur tous les hippodromes alors que Mack Lobell et Nevele Pride ne sont jamais venus en Europe. Dommage...

[@ohearn22]

It's amazing how Sugarcane Hanover brushed toward the lead past the quarter, never quite reached it, then drifted along behind Ourasi's cover on the outside in a traffic jam and found another burst of speed to the far outside to win it. A horse has to have a lot of gears to pull that off, especially in the kind of company featured in this race. Hats off to the very canny driver, too. A race truly befitting a superstar field of trotters. Races of this caliber are far too few nowadays.

[@beorlingo]

Sugercane is my favourite too. He was awsome in the Elitloppet elimination, great in the Oslo Grand Prix, and monstrous in the Olympiatravet.

[@JETPHIL77]

OURASI : 86 races, 58 victories, 22 places... Not so bad for the "Lazy King"...

[@Ouellette1978]

Ourasi is really the best horse in the field, still going strong today in Normandie

[@KarenOGabby]

Sugarcane hanover is the dad of my horse cabby Queen

[@grosporc76]

RIP Ourasi.

[@AgenceFMC]

hi everybody, something important to know is that ourasi used to run on a longer distance (2100m) not the mile. Th american staff wanted a confrontation between those two exceptionnal horses but in usa and in the distance of predilection of mack lobell, that s what we call fair play isnt'it.

[@herralexugo]

american fairplay ^^ if the race would have taken place at vincennes ourasi would have destroyed them on this infernal track

[@stevepot1083]

ourasi super stars, look ourasi prix René balliere..

[@lakings13]

Poor Ourasi had to do all the hard work being parked three wide through three quarters but Sugarcane ran the perfect cover trip..