Trot Insider has learned that World Record holder Pretty Katherine p,2,1:50.3s ($467,648) was recently sold. The three-year-old filly banked $43,750 for her new connections with her second-place finish in her $175,000 New Jersey Sires Stakes Championship last weekend at the Meadowlands Racetrack
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"I had called Casie (trainer Casie Coleman) about yearlings a few weeks back and she had mentioned that (owner) John Liviakis was selling his standardbreds," Tom Hill of Great Britain told Trot Insider.
"I had asked Casie about Pretty Katherine, and a couple of weeks later I began to have a bit of a back and forth with John about Pretty Katherine. He explained to me that he was getting out of the standardbred business, at least for the time being."
Hill did not want to go into detail with Trot Insider in regard to Pretty Katherine's price tag, but he did relate that he is very excited to watch the speedy three-year-old daughter of Rocknroll Hanover hit the track for the rest of her 2011 stakes engagements. He also stated that he is looking forward to watching the filly race in future years before ultimately being bred.
The filly will remain in the Coleman stable, which, according to Hill, has been suffering from a bit of a bug for roughly a month.
"Ideally, we would like to race Pretty Katherine for as long as we can and then breed her to Art Colony," Hill said.
"She's staked up for the rest of this year and we are really excited to see what we can do. She wasn't on the lead Saturday at the Meadowlands, but she paced home very well to finish a close second (to Myluvmylife)."
Hill, Coleman, et al are all hoping that Pretty Katherine, who paced to a 1:50.3 two-year-old World Record last season at Mohawk Racetrack, can continue to put her best hoof forward.
There will be no baby steps involved in the process, either.
If all goes according to plan, Pretty Katherine will lock horns with America's Sweetheart, the undefeated See You At Peelers, in the $350,000 Valley Forge Stakes this Sunday (August 21) at Harrah's Chester in Pennsylvania.