"Everybody always asks me if there's pressure bringing back a horse like him but I've had a lot of nice horses and this looks to be one of the better ones but I try not to put too much pressure on myself. I've been down this road a couple of times."
Can Casie Coleman making it a four-peat in the three-year-old pacing colt division? After winning her third straight O'Brien Award in 2014 with pacing colt McWicked, the sophomore colt garnering the most attention in her barn this season is unbeaten Reverend Hanover.
At 5-1, Reverend Hanover comes in at #2 in Trot Magazine's 2015 Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book. The lightest-raced colt in the Spring Book top 10, the son of Sportswriter made an impressive late-season splash with four straight wins -- none slower than 1:52.1. Trainer and co-owner Casie Coleman provided Trot Insider with an update.
How long was he turned out?
"He shipped down right after the [Ontario Sires Stakes] Super Final and I brought him in just before Christmas time...so, nine weeks."
Where did he winter?
"At Hunterton Farms in Lexington."
Where are you at with him right now?
"Chris Christoforou was here (last Tuesday, April 7) and trained him in 1:58 and he was very good."
Have you noticed any changes from last year to this year?
"He's filled out a lot and he grew quite a bit. I've probably let his hopples out about three inches...I haven't measured but I just keep letting them out inch by inch each time we train."
When will he qualify and what's his early schedule looking like leading up to the Pepsi NA Cup?
"He's shipping north on April 20...I haven't completely decided [on when he'll qualify]. My first main goal will obviously be the Somebeachsomewhere leading into the North America Cup. There is a [Ontario Sires Stakes] Gold at London; I see no issues at all with 'Reverend' getting over the half but I'm not 100 percent sure if I'm going to take him to London or not quite yet.
"I'll qualify him twice for sure and then decide from there what I'm going to do."
What is he staked to past the NA Cup?
"He's pretty much fully staked. There are some that overlapped with his OSS schedule; I plan on racing him in most of the Gold legs but he's in the Little Brown Jug, Breeders Crown...I didn't miss a whole lot unless they overlap."
Any other North America Cup-eligible colts?
"My other N.A. eligibles: Oneisalonelynumber, he's been training back very good also. He also went in 1:58 on Tuesday (April 7). He's going to start off in the New York Sire Stakes at Tioga. Same as Ifyouwantfire, he's also paid into the N.A. Cup, he also trained in 1:58 and the same schedule with him -- he's going to New York, race in that first Sire Stake, come up to Mohawk for the Somebeachsomewhere and then the N.A. Cup."