Brothers to a past Hambletonian winner and a recent Hambletonian favourite headline a group of 2015 Hambletonian hopefuls scheduled to qualify Saturday at the Meadowlands Racetrack.
Jimmy Takter-trained Canepa Hanover and Whom Shall I Fear both battled maturity and health issues last season at age two, combining for only 11 starts and one victory.
Canepa Hanover, who made six starts, won a Peter Haughton prep race in 1:58.1 at the Meadowlands and finished second in the New Jersey Sire Stakes championship.
He went off stride in three races, including the Peter Haughton Memorial Stakes.
A son of stallion Muscle Hill out of the mare Cressida Hanover, Canepa Hanover is a half-brother to 2006 Horse of the Year Glidemaster. The colt sold for $300,000 at the 2013 Standardbred Horse Sale.
Whom Shall I Fear was winless in five starts last year, but finished second in a division of the International Stallion Stakes at The Red Mile. The colt is a full brother to Dan Patch Award winners Pastor Stephen and Father Patrick and sold – under the name Custom Fit – for a Lexington Selected Sale-record $475,000 in 2013.
“They are huge horses, big horses,” said Takter, who won last year’s Hambletonian with Trixton and is a three-time winner of the trotting classic. “Canepa started getting more problems after a couple starts. But he was in the Peter Haughton, so at least he showed that kind of ability. He was probably one of the fastest colts early.
“But both of them have come back super. I never turned them out; I kept them around and kept going with them. I actually wish they would have been out a couple of weeks earlier, but the weather hasn’t cooperated. I’m very excited to go up with both of them. They should be able to qualify very nice and we’ll see where we’re heading.”
Other Hambletonian-eligible male trotters entered in Saturday’s qualifiers are Explosive Brother, Fashion Creditor, Finish Line, Handover The Money, Michaels Pearl, Natural Kemp, P Mac Attack, Southwind Mozart, Stonebridge Force, and Workout Wonder.
Natural Kemp, who last year won one of two starts for trainer Ake Svanstedt, is a son of Muscles Yankee out of the stakes-winning mare Impressive Kemp. His family includes last year’s Hambletonian winner Trixton as well as Dan Patch Award winners Andover Hall and Conway Hall.
Svanstedt also trains Handover The Money, Southwind Mozart, Stonebridge Force, and Workout Wonder.
Handover The Money, a son of Andover Hall-CR Sister Suzie, is a half-brother to 2010 Yonkers Trot winner On The Tab whose family also includes Dan Patch Award winner CR Kay Suzie. Stonebridge Force, by Muscle Hill out of Cream Puff, is a half-brother to 2008 Hambletonian Oaks winner Creamy Mimi and his family includes Dan Patch Award winner Pizza Dolce.
Trond Smedshammer, who won the 2004 Hambletonian with Windsongs Legacy, trains and drives Finish Line, a son of Yankee Glide-Calchips Finisher whose family includes past Smedshammer star -– and Dan Patch Award winner -– Blur.
Explosive Brother, a son of Explosive Matter-Meadowbranch Irene in the stable of trainer Noel Daley, is a half-brother to Dan Patch Award winner Mr Muscleman.
Fashion Creditor, now in the stable of trainer Tom Fanning, finished third in a division of the International Stallion Stakes last year. He is a son of Credit Winner-Bon Voyage.
P Mac Attack is by Muscle Hill and out of the stakes-winning mare Under My Thumb. He is trained by Nancy Johansson. Michaels Pearl is from the stable of Bruce Lauer.
The $1 million Hambletonian Stakes will be contested Aug. 8 at the Meadowlands, with eliminations and final on the same day.
To view entries for Saturday's qualifiers, click the following link: Saturday Qualifiers - Meadowlands Racetrack.
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.