The third installment of the 2018 Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown Standardbred Poll has been released, and although reigning trotting queen Hannelore Hanover still sits atop the pile, a sharp rival with a full head of steam is gunning for the top spot.
Hannelore Hanover, the 2017 Horse of the Year on both sides of the border, has garnered 24 first-place votes and leads this week’s poll with 325 points.
The Ron Burke-trained and Yannick Gingras-driven Hannelore Hanover is three-for-three thus far in 2018. She raced last weekend in an Armbro Flight elimination at Woodbine Mohawk Park. After having been sent off as the overwhelming 1-9 favourite from Post 6, Hannelore Hanover cleared to command after a :27 opening quarter and cruised unchallenged through middle splits of :56.1 and 1:24.2 en route to victory. She drew away with ease down the stretch to score by five and a half lengths in 1:52 flat.
Hannelore Hanover is in to go for her fourth pari-mutuel test of 2018, as she is scheduled to contest the Armbro Flight final this Saturday (June 16) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Confederation Cup winner Filibuster Hanover is now second on the poll with six first-place votes and a total of 285 points. The gelding extended his perfect four-year-old campaign on Sunday afternoon (June 10) at Tioga Downs, as he captured another Graduate Series division. He went right to the lead in his division and carved out all the fractions (:27.4, :56.3, 1:24) before nailing the wire in 1:50.3.
The results from Week 3 of the poll appear below.
(Rank – Horse [first-place votes] – Total Points – Previous)
1 – Hannelore Hanover (24) – 325 – 1
2 – Filibuster Hanover (6) – 285 – 3
3 – Shartin N (1) – 220 – 2
4 – Atlanta (3) – 203 – 5
5 – Lather Up – 180 – 9
6 – Manchego – 109 – 8
7 – Bit Of A Legend N – 103 – 6
8 – Will Take Charge – 94 – 4
9 – Keystone Velocity (1) – 88 – 7
10 – Rockin Ron – 42 – 10
Also: Ariana G (37); Wes Delight (36); Six Pack (28); Stay Hungry (25); Homicide Hunter (24); Blazin Britches, Trump Nation (20); Jimmy Freight (18); Marion Marauder (12); NF Happenstance (9); Mach It So (7); Alarm Detector (6); KJs Justine (5); Emoticon Hanover, Elmo Blatch, Highalator (4); Done Well, Dorsoduro Hanover, Wolfgang (3); Crazy Wow, Jet Airway (2); Fox Valley Gemini, Plunge Blue Chip, St Lads Neptune, Theresademoninme (1).
The Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll is voted on by harness racing media representatives that cover North American Standardbred racing.
The rankings are based on the votes of harness racing media representatives on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
The Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll does not determine Horse of the Year. The U.S. Harness Writers Association votes in December on all Dan Patch Award division winners plus Trotter of the Year, Pacer of the Year and Horse of the Year. The Dan Patch Awards are separate from the O'Brien Awards, which recognize Canada's top Standardbreds of a given racing season.