Tom Fanning might not have a shoo-in to reach the Fan Hanover Stakes final, but he likes Trillions Hanover’s chances with all four shoes on.

Fanning watched his three-year-old female pacer qualify last weekend at The Meadowlands in 1:50.2 with a shoe missing, after which he was quick to quip with a grin, “She probably goes 1:49 with four shoes.” She can try Saturday (June 8), when she races in the first of two Fan Hanover eliminations at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Nineteen three-year-old filly pacers were entered in the Fan Hanover, including Dan Patch Award winner Warrawee Ubeaut and O’Brien Award winner Tall Drink Hanover. The two will meet in the second of the two $35,000 eliminations, which also includes Three Diamonds Stakes winner Prescient Beauty and budding Ontario star Sunny Dee, who is 8-for-8 this season.

The top five finishers from each division will advance to the final on June 15.

Saturday’s card also includes two eliminations for the North America Cup for three-year-old male pacers and a prep race for the Roses Are Red Stakes for older female pacers.

Trillions Hanover has won five of nine career races and finished second twice, earning $65,650 in purses. She was last year’s Pennsylvania Stallion Series champion for two-year-old filly pacers.

“She didn’t train down like she was going to be something special,” Fanning said. “She just trained down like a normal horse, a little on the lazy side, but never gave us a problem. She didn’t get sick, didn’t tie up. When she got into a race, she just got better and better. She’s got a good attitude. You don’t have to coddle her like a lot of fillies. You train her, you turn her out, you jog her, she eats. She does her work. She’s good that way.”

Trillions Hanover is a daughter of Somebeachsomewhere out of Tutu Hanover. She was purchased under the name Thompson Hanover for $20,000 at the Standardbred Horse Sale and is owned by Falcon Racing, J L Benson Stables, and VIP Internet Stable.

“She was pretty nasty; I think that turned a lot of people off,” Fanning said about the filly at the sale. “But she got over that and is really a sweetheart now. She’s got a great attitude. She just wants to beat horses, she really does.”

Trillions Hanover has raced twice this season, beating four-year-old Reclamation (handing the mare her only loss in seven starts this year) before going off stride in her second at Harrah’s Philadelphia.

“She has a little trouble at (Philly) in the turns, but we kind of got that straightened out,” Fanning said. “We thought if she qualified well last week at the Meadowlands we would send her up for the Fan Hanover. She qualified really well. She only had three shoes, but we got through the race.

“She should benefit from that qualifier. I’ve been training her, but not a lot fast. So that was a really good tightener for her. I think she will really step up off of that and she’s showed legitimate speed. She wasn’t completely done in the qualifier either, so that was a good sign. She can go, and she has some class to her as well. We’ll see what happens.”

Trillions Hanover, who will be driven by David Miller, is 8-1 on the morning line. The favourite in the first elimination is 2018 Kentucky Sire Stakes champion Beautyonthebeach, at 3-1, followed by Treacherous Reign at 7-2. She is a Tony Alagna-trained stablemate to O'Brien Award winner Tall Drink Hanover, who is 4-1 in the second elim.

Last year, Tall Drink Hanover won the Shes A Great Lady Stakes at Mohawk, where Treacherous Reign finished in a dead-heat second with Prescient Beauty. Treacherous Reign is 2-for-2 this year while Tall Drink Hanover beat older foes in her only start of the campaign.

“She had a great first start,” Alagna said about Tall Drink Hanover. “She was very impressive. We felt like she had good fitness, so we didn’t want to race her back last week. It’s such a long year. The way she raced in her first start off a layoff, I think her fitness is there. We tuned her up a little bit (Monday) morning so she seems like she’s going to be firing on all cylinders.

“Treacherous Reign started out great last year and just got tired toward the end of the season. I should have put her away earlier than I did, but thankfully she’s come back good this year. (Driver Dexter Dunn) was tickled to death with the way she raced the other day. She showed good pace on both ends of the mile.

“I feel very good about them.”

The favourite in the second elimination, at 5-2 on the morning line, is Warrawee Ubeaut. She paced 1:48.3 last year to become the fastest two-year-old pacer in history and is off to a 2-for-2 start in 2019.

“She’s been great,” trainer Ron Burke said. “She couldn’t be any better. If anything, she’s been better (than last year) because she’s calm; she’ll let you do what you want, not what she wants. I’m thrilled with her.”

Racing begins at 7:10 p.m. (EDT) at Mohawk. For Saturday’s complete entries, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Woodbine Mohawk Park.

(USTA)