After a nearly flawless season, the awards keep coming for sophomore trotting filly Ariana G and it's surely just the tip of the iceberg.
Ariana G has been named the recipient of the Secretary of Agriculture’s trophy as New Jersey Standardbred of the Year for 2017. In November, the three-year-old filly trotter was named New Jersey Sire Stakes Horse of the Year. She will be honoured for both accomplishments at the 61st annual Breeders Awards Luncheon on Jan. 28 at O’Connor’s Restaurant in Eastampton.
A daughter of Muscle Hill out of Cantab It All, Ariana G won 12 of 15 races this year and earned more than $1.17 million for Canadian-based breeders/owners Marvin Katz and Al Libfeld. She was trained by Jimmy Takter and driven by Yannick Gingras.
For her career, Ariana G has won 21 of 26 races and earned $1.98 million.
This year, Ariana G won both of the New Jersey-restricted races that she entered, including the New Jersey Sire Stakes championship for three-year-old filly trotters in a lifetime best 1:51.1 at the Meadowlands.
She used those races as a springboard to success in open stakes, capturing the Hambletonian Oaks, Breeders Crown, Elegantimage, Simcoe, and divisions of the Delvin Miller Memorial and Bluegrass.
Ariana G spent much of this season ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in the weekly Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll. She ended the season at No. 2.
“She’s a fantastic, exceptional, one-of-a-kind type filly,” Katz said following Ariana G’s season-ending win in the Breeders Crown. “Right now, she’s at the pinnacle of the sport. She gotten so many accolades that she richly deserves. She’s been a star for the whole industry for the whole year. She’s really an exceptional, rare filly. She’s one of these fillies that comes along every five or 10 years.
“Jimmy Takter, Yannick Gingras; they deserve all the credit. They’ve managed her fabulously.”
(with files from SBOANJ)