“He Kind Of Knew He Was Special"

When Brian Sears reflects upon the career of Rocknroll Hanover, he is reminded of another star from outside the world of harness racing

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“He reminded me of someone like Bo Jackson,” Sears said, referring to the first person to be named an all-star in two professional sports leagues, the NFL and MLB. “He was big, but just quick and a super athlete.”

Rocknroll Hanover and Bo Jackson share another distinction. Both are Hall of Famers. Rocknroll Hanover will be inducted into the Living Horse Hall of Fame at the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame in Goshen, New York, on July 1, at which time Rainbow Blue and broodmare Arterra also will be honoured.

“I’m happy that he’s there and he deserves to be there,” Sears said. “He is just one of the most athletic horses that I’ve ever sat behind. I’m glad I had the opportunity to drive a horse like him. I knew he was a special horse.”

Rocknroll Hanover, trained by Brett Pelling for owners Jeffrey Snyder, Lothlorien Equestrian Centre and Perretti Racing, was 2005 Horse of the Year in the United States. That season he won 12 of 18 races, including the North America Cup, Meadowlands Pace and Breeders Crown, and earned $2.3 million.

A year earlier, the colt won the million-dollar Metro Pace in a World Record 1:49.4. He is the only pacer in history to win the Metro, North America Cup, Meadowlands Pace and a Breeders Crown in his career.

“The Metro was definitely one of his big races because he was so young and green, just raw, at the time,” Sears said. “Coming back as a three-year-old, winning all those classic races, that speaks for itself. He was gaited and handy like a little horse and could step it up when you needed the gas, but he wasn’t a little horse. He was just very athletic. Nothing bothered him.”

Sears was concerned about Rocknroll Hanover as a young horse, but the colt matured during his time away from the races between his two and three-year-old campaigns.

“He was a very fast horse,” Sears said. “He was a little aggressive; I think we left out of there in :25.4 (for the opening quarter-mile) in the Metro. Coming back as a three-year-old my main concern was that he was going to want to be too aggressive, but when he came back as a three-year-old he was a perfect gentleman. He was two fingers; you could do whatever you wanted with him. It made my job so much easier.”

Rocknroll Hanover will always be special to Sears because the colt was the first star horse he drove regularly. Sears headed to the Meadowlands in 2003 and won his first major stakes that November when he guided Stroke Play to victories in the Matron and Breeders Crown. In 2005, Sears set the record for driver earnings (since broken) with $15 million in purses.

“He definitely put me on the map as far as getting the big horse and winning some of the big races,” Sears said. “It helps people have confidence in you that you can get it done. I have to thank Brett Pelling and Jeff Snyder; they believed in me and it all worked out. It was great to drive for Brett. I’ve always thought the most of him as a trainer. I was just glad to be able to have some success with him.”

At the time of his retirement, Rocknroll Hanover was the fastest two-year-old pacer in history and had posted the third-richest season among pacers in history. Sears and the colt’s connections were not alone in understanding his greatness.

“He kind of knew he was special,” Sears said. “I guess that’s the ‘it’ factor with a horse. He was just a total class animal.”

This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.