by Lou Monaco, for the Meadowlands
The mare showed the boys.
Hannelore Hanover and driver
Yannick Gingras took the lead on the far turn and was much the best, capturing
the $471,200 Hambletonian Maturity for 4-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles by 3 1/2
lengths on the Meadowlands Pace undercard Saturday night at the
Meadowlands.
Hannelore Hanover, the 4-5
post-time favorite and daughter of Swan For All, recorded her ninth victory in
10 starts this year and paid $3.80 to win.
“She was even better tonight than
she was in Canada (winning three straight in the Armbro Flight eliminations and
final and Ms. Versatility),” said Gingras. “The second time I raced her
in Canada, she was a little bit hot. They made a couple of changes on her
and she usually starts out a little bit stiff, but she warms right out of
it. Tonight, the minute she hit the track, she felt super. She
just dominated them.”
Trained by Ron Burke, Hannelore
Hanover brushed past Musical Rhythm, driven by John Campbell, at the half-mile
mark and cleared to take the lead for good.
Fractions for the 1 1/8-mile trot
were :26.3, :55.4, 1:24.4, 1:52.3 and 2:05.4.
Wings of Royalty, driven by Brian
Sears, held on nicely to finish second with Crazy Wow, driven by Tim Tetrick
and also trained by Burke, grabbing the show spot.
Hannelore Hanover, who was
supplemented to the race for $50,000, joined Bee A Magician (second in 2014)
and Shake It Cerry (third in 2015) as the only mares to start in the Maturity
against the males.
Created by the Hambletonian
Society and the Meadowlands as a racing opportunity solely for 4-year-olds
previously eligible to the Hambletonian and Oaks, the Maturity racing
conditions prohibit the use of Lasix, the only race day medication permitted in
New Jersey.
