“She was a really good filly last year. She competed in all the big races and only got beat a couple of times. It took her a couple of starts to get back and she’s coming into form. She just really impresses me."
Romantic Moment might not be the best known three-year-old filly pacer owned by Brittany Farms and trained by Jimmy Takter, but that’s far from a knock against her.
It’s tough to get noticed when American Jewel is a stablemate. But Romantic Moment is trying to gain attention. After winning her elimination for Saturday’s $642,000 Fan Hanover Stakes by 2-1/4 lengths over Pirouette Hanover in 1:50.4, she gained praise from Takter.
“She was in the shadows of American Jewel, but she was a good horse last year,” Takter said. “If you didn’t have American Jewel, you’d be excited having her. But it’s not bad to have both of them.”
American Jewel also won her Fan Hanover elim, topping Big McDeal by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:50.
Tim Tetrick drove both Romantic Moment and American Jewel in the elims, but will go with American Jewel in the final. Yannick Gingras is listed to drive Romantic Moment.
"She’s getting her legs back up under her and I expect good things from her this year," said Tetrick of Romantic Moment after the Fan Hanover elim win.
Romantic Moment is a daughter of American Ideal out of the mare Time N Again. She is a half-sister to multiple-stakes-winner Sand Windsor and her family includes 2001 Classic Distaff winner Yes Its True.
Last year, Romantic Moment won two of six races, with her triumphs coming in a division of the Eternal Camnation (with the other division going to American Jewel) and her elimination for the She’s A Great Lady. She was fifth in the She’s A Great Lady final, which was won by American Jewel in a stakes-record 1:50.2.
This season, Romantic Moment has two wins in three starts. She opened this season with a track-record 1:51 victory in a division of the New York Sire Stakes at Vernon Downs (the mark was lowered again later in the night by Major Look) before finishing third by a neck against older competition.
American Jewel won eight of nine races last year and finished second in her lone defeat; a start in which she was injured and missed the remainder of the season. She earned the O’Brien Award as Canada’s best two-year-old filly pacer and was second to Economy Terror in Dan Patch Award voting for U.S. divisional honors.
She returned this year to finish second to Major Look in her track-record effort at Vernon before winning her Fan Hanover elim.
“I was tickled to death with both, especially with Romantic Moment. She raced really good,” Takter said. “American Jewel, she’s a class horse. Both of them are going into it as good as they can be. Both finished with power left; Tim didn’t pull the earplugs on either one of them.
“They’ve got good posts and they should be right there.”
To view the field for Saturday’s $642,000 Fan Hanover Stakes and full entries for Saturday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Mohawk Racetrack.
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.