Bestofbest Hanover may be small in stature, but he has big talent

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The Quebec-owned and trained colt will try to use his strong late brush to catch a piece of the $1 million jackpot in the Meadowlands Pace on Saturday night.

Bestofbest Hanover will start from post nine with driver Mike Lachance in the sulky. He is rated at 15-1 on the morning line for the connections of trainer Daniel Martin and owner L Ecurie Triple P [Jean-Roch Perron and Isabelle Paquet]. The headliner on a stakes-laden card, the Meadowlands Pace is race nine with an estimated post time of 10:08 p.m.

Bestofbest Hanover is the third foal out of 2001 Horse of the Year Bunny Lake. Despite his regal bloodlines, the son of Western Hanover fetched just $27,000 at the 2009 yearling sale in Harrisburg, PA. A half-brother, Tobago Cays ($340,413, 1:50.1), brought $45,000 the year prior, while a half-sister, Bodacious Hanover, fetched $160,000 last November.

"Bestofbest Hanover sold for only $27,000 at Harrisburg, perhaps because at the time of that sale, he was very small," Martin said. "He's a little bit bigger now, but still considered a smaller horse. I actually wasn't at the sale. The owners and [veteran Quebec horseman] Gabriel Boily were there.

"This horse has the pedigree and potential," Martin continued. "He keeps getting better with every start, and he's very sharp right now."

Bestofbest Hanover won three of five starts at two and took a mark of 1:52.4 at Mohawk. This year, he has accrued four wins and $113,600, bringing his career totals to seven wins in 13 starts and $136,240.

"Last year, Mr. Boily started him in baby races at Rideau Carlton," Martin explained. "Yves Filion drove him a couple of times there and was impressed. He suggested sending the colt to Toronto, so they called me to take the horse.

"At that time, there was certainly a thought he was going to be a good one, but he really liked Mohawk," he continued. "It gave him a chance to stretch out, and show his speed and potential."

Bestofbest Hanover stepped into the spotlight this year with a decisive 1:51.2 victory in the Somebeachsomewhere on June 4 at Mohawk. He paced his final quarter in :26.4.

"He really stepped to the forefront when he won his Somebeachsomewhere division," Martin said. "That made a strong statement."

Bestofbest Hanover made an even bigger splash in the North America Cup Consolation on June 18 at Mohawk.

"In his North America Cup elimination he was trying to close from a tough spot and just missed third by a nose," Martin said. "So, we had to go to the consolation. He had a great trip and he won in 1:49.1. Jack Moiseyev did a great job driving him."

Bestofbest Hanover broke stride in his next start, a conditioned race on July 2 at Mohawk, before shipping to New Jersey for the Meadowlands Pace elims.

"There was a big storm whipping up," Martin noted. "He was nervous to begin with and spooked. There were several breakers in that race."

Bestofbest Hanover rallied along the inside, coming home in :26 flat, to finish fifth in his Pace elimination won by Custard The Dragon.

"I had no game plan going into the race but the way I sat on the backstretch, if I waited to come out I would have never made it," driver Mike Lachance after the elim. "There were five or six horses on the outside and we weren't going anywhere, so I had to go on the inside. I was hoping I'd have room at the front and I got there just enough to finish fifth. The horse had plenty of pace though at the end. He had a good trip on the inside so I didn't use him hard."

"After his elimination, Mike Lachance assured me he was very, very good," Martin said. "He told me if he gets room he wins.

"Naturally, I'm disappointed with post nine in the final, but I'm so fortunate to have Mike Lachance to drive my horse," Martin continued. "He's a legend. He's a dedicated professional in great shape."

Indeed, Hall of Famer Mike Lachance, 60, has the most Pace experience of any driver in Saturday's field. He will be making his 20th start in the Pace. Lachance won the race in 1988 with Matts Scooter and in 2003 with Allamerican Theory.

Martin has also cashed a check in a million-dollar event. He finished fifth in the 1999 North America Cup with Nagano.

"This is the biggest race I've been in since then," he said. "I've raced a few times at the Meadowlands with no luck yet."

Martin, 51, of Hemmingford, Quebec was one of the province's leading horsemen before moving his stable to Mohawk. He has won nearly $16 million in purses as a driver and trainer combined.

"I'm from Quebec, and that's where I usually raced, but there's no more racing there," he said. "I prepare the babies in Florida in the winter, and come back to Ontario for the summer and the sire stakes."

(Meadowlands Racetrack)