All Ready Hanover has garnered attention since she stepped out onto the racetrack for her three-year-old campaign and she will look for more in her Elegantimage Stakes elimination this Friday at Mohawk Racetrack.
After destroying the competition at Kawartha Downs on April 14 by a whopping 23 and a quarter lengths, the daughter of Chocolatier then ventured to Woodbine Racetrack on April 30, where she again proceeded to create an insurmountable gap between her and the rest of the field.
She made sure if you didn’t notice her last time, you certainly did this time.
All Ready Hanover won by 20 and a half lengths over a track rated 'good.' Veteran horseman Per Henriksen was in the racebike for his wife Ann Larsen, who trains and co-owns the filly with her father Odd Larsen of Norway.
The trotting miss continued to shine. With only one off-key effort, she is four-for-five this season and has banked $62,459 in earnings.
“She made a break one time on me at Woodbine,” said Henriksen of her May 10 chart line. “She wasn’t quite herself that day, but she has been all the way since.”
Not too shabby for a $5,000 purchase at the Harrisburg Mixed Sale last fall. They were also recently offered $600,000 to sell her.
“Ann doesn’t want to sell at this time,” Henriksen explained as to why the offer was turned down. “It’s her horse and she calls the shots.
“I just want to keep peace in the house,” he laughed and then joked, “She must have more money than I know.”
But Henriksen acknowledges how extraordinary All Ready Hanover is. Larsen believes they have a once in lifetime type horse on their hands, which is why she also got her father involved.
“She said she wished for a horse like this her whole life and finally she got one so she wants to enjoy it and whatever happens, happens,” said Henriksen, who earned the 2009 O’Brien Award of Horsemanship. “I think 'All Ready’ is outstanding. She is something absolutely special.”
The trotter will go into her $35,000 elimination fresh off a triumph in last week’s Casual Breeze Stakes at Mohawk --- a performance where she not only won by two and three-quarter lengths, but lowered her lifetime mark to 1:53.4.
“She is a good horse and has a lot of speed,” said the 66-year-old resident of Norwood, Ont. “She cruised her last quarter in 27 seconds last time and she could have gone more. I think speed is her biggest plus.
“If she races the way she did last week, she has as good of a chance as anybody else,” he added. “She drew a good post position (PP2) and with Trevor (Trevor Ritchie) driving, he knows what to do. So with a little luck, I think she is as good as any of them.”
Henriksen will send out barn mate Smarty Pants in the second Elegantimage elimination. The daughter of Kadabra sports a record of 4-4-3 in 12 lifetime outings and boasts $101,828 in career earnings for owners Stan Klemencic, Dr. Brett Anderson and Asa Farm.
She is a filly who the conditioner feels is coming into her own.
“I thought she had quite a bit of talent last year,” he said. “I raced her a few times. This year, she has been getting better and better. She would have had a shot to win the [SBOA Stakes final on May 25], but she got locked in a little bit.
“She had a good two-hole trip in the mud there on Friday,” said the horseman of the filly's three and a quarter-length Casual Breeze victory in a career-best 1:56. “I don’t know how good she is and how fast she can go, but I do not think she is as good as All Ready Hanover by no means, but we talked about it and we are going to take a shot.”
Henriksen is unsure if Smarty Pants has the talent to “go with the big girls,” but feels she possesses some striking qualities.
“She’s never made a mistake,” he stated. “She doesn’t do anything wrong. She can leave pretty well, she can follow a horse a long way and she usually has a good kick coming home.”
Smarty Pants will start from Post 4 for driver Sylvain Filion.
Her stablemate, R Raised Emotions is also in for some stakes action. The three-year-old gelding will contest his $30,000 Goodtimes Trot elimination on Saturday night.
The homebred son of Kadabra, who was unraced at two, has six wins, two seconds and one third-place finish in 12 starts. He has stashed away $59,125 in earnings for owner/breeder Thomas and Elizabeth Rankin.
He will line up in Post 4 for driver Chris Christoforou.
Henriksen won the Goodtimes in 2008 with Clerk Magistrate.
In addition to the Elegantimage and Goodtimes eliminations, the weekend is jam-packed with stakes. Friday’s program will also feature trotting fillies and mares, who will contest two Armbro Flight elims. On Saturday, the glamour boys will battle in two Pepsi North America Cup elims and sophomore pacing fillies will compete in a pair of Fan Hanover elims.
The top five finishers in each elimination will advance to their respective plentiful finals, slated for Saturday, June 16, the night of the $1.5-million classic.
To view the harness racing entries for Friday at Mohawk Racetrack, click the following link: Friday Entries - Mohawk Racetrack.
(WEG)