Dave Hanson took a chance on Perfect Mass as a broodmare, and in the case of her daughter Sister Mary Maude, the result has been divine.
Sister Mary Maude, who competes in Friday’s $110,000 USD Crossroads of America for three-year-old female trotters at Harrah’s Hoosier Park, has hit the board in 20 of 22 career races and earned $556,197.
In August, she won a division of the New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) in a track record 1:54.2 at Batavia Downs, lowering the previous record for sophomore trotting fillies by four-fifths of a second.
She counts seven NYSS victories among her eight lifetime wins. Nine of her 10 career second-place finishes have occurred this season, with four coming behind NYSS champion and Kentucky Filly Futurity winner R Melina. Her two most recent runner-up finishes were against multiple Grand Circuit stakes winners She Shaq and Elista Hanover.
“I’ve raised a lot of nice horses for other people, but I’ve never had one of my own that good,” Hanson said about Sister Mary Maude, a daughter of Crazy Wow-Perfect Mass who sold for $31,000 at the 2022 Goshen Yearling Sale and is now owned by Burke Racing Stable, William Switala, James Martin and Weaver Bruscemi.
“It’s been a lot of fun watching her race. I’ve been to the track every chance I could to watch her go in person. When I couldn’t get to the racetrack, I watched her [online]. It’s just always been fun to watch her go. It’s been a thrill for me.”
Sister Mary Maude was named after Hanson’s late grandmothers, Mary and Maude. Hanson has used religious-inspired names for Perfect Mass’s foals.
“It just kind of sung a little bit if you put 'Sister' Mary Maude on there,” said Hanson. “We took [the naming of the foals] off Perfect Mass. Rather than mass being mass in size, it was mass like a church service.”
Hanson bought Perfect Mass for $17,000 at the 2018 Standardbred Horse Sale’s Mixed Sale. She was a four-year-old at the time, selling as the final horse in the “Broodmare Prospects” section of the catalogue. She is a half-sister to two-time O’Brien Award winner Perfetto.
“That particular year, I couldn’t afford any broodmares,” said Hanson. “I was looking at her pedigree and I saw she was a Muscle Mass mare out of a Cantab Hall mare. I thought, this mare is bred just like Six Pack, and he’s a world champion. I decided to take a swing with her and the price was right.”
Sister Mary Maude didn’t display any signs of her future talents early on.
“She was kind of a Plain Jane, to be honest with you,” said Hanson. “There wasn’t anything wrong with her, but she wasn’t something that you looked at and really grabbed your attention. But she turned into a nice yearling, and she got some people’s attention at the Goshen sale. She sold good. I was pretty content with that.”
On Friday, Sister Mary Maude will start from post six in a field of seven fillies. She will have David Miller in the sulky and is the 5-2 second choice on the morning line.
“When she’s on her game and she’s in the stretch, she will grab another gear,” said Hanson. “She will put her ears right back and go.
“She butted heads with R Melina all year, and when R Melina wasn’t there, she got the opportunity to win a few. Setting the track record at Batavia was really exciting too. I think she’s a good, honest filly. I think she tries her best when she’s out there.”
Danger, trained and driven by Robert Taylor, is the 2-1 favourite in the Crossroads of America. The daughter of Swan For All-Chim Swift has nine wins and two seconds in 12 races this season after being unraced at two.
In addition to the Crossroads of America, Hoosier Park will host the $180,000 USD Monument Circle for three-year-old male pacers, $175,000 USD Carl Erskine for three-year-old male trotters and $100,000 USD USS Indianapolis Memorial for three-year-old female pacers.
Nijinsky is the 6-5 favourite in the Monument Circle while T C I is the 1-5 favourite in the Carl Erskine. Lets Go Endofaera gets the 2-1 nod in the USS Indianapolis Memorial. For more about Friday’s card, click here.
For a free Friday program from Harrah’s Hoosier Park, click here.
(USTA)