New Hampshire Sweeps 

Under hot and very humid conditions the N. H. Sweeps set up as a race where only two horses were given any  consideration. Of the two New York invaders,  Hap was sent off as the overwhelming favorite. Gander, a horse who started his career in New England,  was given some attention at the windows. Gander was up against it as the Sweeps was his first start on the grass and Hap was a proven grass winner with his last victory in the Grade II Dixie at Pimlico.

   Hap in the paddock

Gander Goes to Post

The race produced no surprises as 3 to 10 flaxen maned Hap  drew off to an easy seven length victory. Gander took the lead briefly on the second turn but was no match in the stretch.

Hap's victory in the Sweeps was his eighth victory in thirteen starts and the win boosted his earnings to just over $600,000. The five-year-old  flaxen tinted son of Theatrical is owned by the Allen Paulson Living Trust and trained by Bill Mott. This was Bill's first victory in five attempts to win the Sweeps. In the winner's Circle after the race Hap's jockey John Velasquez hoisted the large trophy in celebration.