Hellava Hush Passes

Millionaire stakes-winning trotter Hellava Hush has passed away at the age of 19.

According to his former caretaker, Don Carroll of Whiting, N.J., the 19-year-old gelding died from natural causes at the private farm of Darin Lane of Massachusetts.

In his racing career, the son of Lindy Lane posted 30 victories, 20 seconds and 13 third-place finishes in 88 starts.

Kelly O’Donnell trained him at two and three, and he was also driving the colt in his first few starts which included a win in the PA All Stars at Pocono, and two other wins at the Meadows. O’Donnell then handed over the lines to Brian Sears, who steered him to win a PA Sire Stake.

At three, Dave Palone became Hellava Hush’s regular driver and together they scooped up the Keystone Classic, the $100,000 PA Sire Stake final, the Galt Memorial at Maywood Park, and the Hanover Stake at Balmoral Park.

At four, Hellava Hush was bought by trainer Bill Gallagher for owner Joseph Chnapko. The price was $155,000, which turned out to be a bargain for the promising young trotter, who soon added more wins to his resume. It was initially Tom Sells that was driving Hellava Hush for Gallagher and in their third start at Pompano Park, they made it to the winner’s circle. Then it was time to go north and the horse was shipped up to Canada and raced mostly in overnights at Mohawk and Woodbine. After a couple of wins and numerous placings with Tom Sells, and toward the end of the summer, Stephen Condren was assigned driving duties and continued the rally in similar fashion. On Oct. 25, 2004, Hellava Hush beat Mr Muscleman in a 1:52.4 performance in the Open Trot at Woodbine.

“He was such an amazing animal. Exceptional,” said Carroll, who took care of Hellava Hush from day one at the Gallagher Stable. “He always tried so hard, I never heard a driver say he didn’t try. His heart was as big as a basketball.”

Carroll was excited about Hellava Hush from the very beginning.

“When I worked for Team Nordin, they had Kindava Hush, the dam of Hellava Hush, in training. She was a great filly, so it felt special taking care of her son and he was just as nice as a horse can be.”

Now fast forward to 2005, the year when Hellava Hush was five and his most successful year. He started out by basically placing and picking up cheques in every single start for various drivers. Most of the time, however, Cat Manzi was driving and he was on board when Hellava Hush conquered the $300,000 Nat Ray in 1:51, setting his lifetime mark and the fastest trotting mile of the year.

He didn’t make any big waves in the Breeders Crown or the Maple Leaf Trot, both at Mohawk in September, but when October came around, he was back in high gear at the Red Mile where he triumphed in both the prep and the final of the Allerage Farm Trot. He wrapped up the season with a third-place finish in the American- National at Balmoral Park.

At six, he only raced eight times and started out with a win streak of four at Pompano Park. On May 20 he finished second in the Cutler Memorial and that kind of marked the end of his career. Over the following three years, he raced only a few times at Pompano Park.

Hellava Hush retired with total earnings of $1,199,325. In 2014, Carroll found out that Hellava Hush needed a home.

“Of course, I took him in. I had him for about a year and a half when I heard of a man named Darin Lane was looking for a nice old horse for his daughters to ride. It really worked out well and Hellava Hush seemed happy. Darin sent me pictures.”

Getting the call from Darin the other day and learning about Hellava Hush’s passing, Carroll says, “I thought I was prepared for this day, but I wasn’t.”

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the connections of Hellava Hush.

(USTA)