by David Mattia, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Plainfield, NJ — Mohawk Racetrack will pay tribute to one of harness racing’s greatest mares on Saturday night (June 14) with the C$733,031 Fan Hanover for 3-year-old fillies. Last week’s elimination winners Tug River Princess, A And G’sconfusion, Artimittateslife, and Has An Attitude will have to scrap it out with six other fillies who also qualified for the final. While Tug River Princess looks like she’ll be hard to beat after her 1:51.1 elimination win, trainer Erv Miller sees a light on the horizon for his filly Has An Attitude.

“I think Has An Attitude’s got a real good chance,” said Miller. “She’s a big, big filly that just needs racing. I think she’ll just keep getting better as she races. I thought she raced awfully good in her elimination. She was a little lazier than I’d like her to be. Normally she’s not that lazy, but I think she’ll be a lot peppier in the final.”

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Has An Attitude has won seven of her eight sophomore starts, with earnings of $77,813.

Has An Attitude is a daughter of No Pan Intended from the great Laag mare So Fresh and lately she’s been living up to her pedigree. So Fresh was a top mare who earned $803,794 and took a mark of 1:53 back in 1992.

Of course, Has An Attitude has a long way to go to catch up to her dam, but if the recent past is an indicator of things to come, she just might do mom proud despite being a late bloomer of sorts.

Has An Attitude began her career in a qualifier at Lexington on Aug. 30, 2007. In that race Dave Palone drove her to a 1:58.4 fourth-place finish. She followed that two weeks later with another qualifier at Lexington where she finished second and paced in 1:55.1. Her pari-mutuel debut at Lexington also happened to be her farewell performance. After a fifth-place finish and a 1:55.3 clocking, it was decided that she would stop and get on a plan for her 3-year-old season.

“She was just a big pretty immature mare,” recalled Miller of his filly’s 2-year-old season. “We decided that with a little patience she would make a better 3-year-old. She was really good at two, but she had little aches and pains from not being grown up that kept her from being a good filly as a 2-year-old.”

Has An Attitude returned for her 3-year-old season on March 12, with a pair of qualifiers for driver Brent Holland, and 2008 found this filly to be a lot more mature and possessing a desire to win races. She won both qualifiers and then went on to sweep a non-winners of one series at Balmoral with three consecutive wins. Her best clocking was a 1:55.1 victory over Cole’s Amity Jane and Wolf Creek Cupid in the opening leg on March 30.

After that triumphant return the big filly headed to Canada where she was entered in the Ontario Spring Series at Mohawk. Again she swept the three race series for driver Mark MacDonald with a 1:52.4 win in the $49,300 final.

Her only loss this year came in an overnight race at Mohawk on May 30 when she finished second to Maeve Hanover.

Now with Jason Brewer in the bike, she heads into the Fan Hanover Final after a nice 1:52 win in her elimination, and thus far she’s won seven of her nine races. She’s also rapidly banked $77,943 for her owner and breeder, Brittany Farms of Versailles, Ky.

Has An Attitude is a big filly with a heart to match, and if that counts for anything she just might grab the winner’s share of the Fan Hanover purse on Saturday night at Mohawk Racetrack. She’s a filly who likes to win, and every time she does win she does it with a little more finesse and a lot more authority — even if she is a little lazy.

“She’s just a really nice mare and she’s real easy to get along with,” said trainer Miller. “She’ll just keep getting better and I think she has a good chance in the final.”

Here is the field, in post position order, for the C$733,031 Fan Hanover Stakes at Mohawk Racetrack: 1. Tug River Princess, 2. A And G’sconfusion, 3. Artimittateslife, 4. Has An Attitude, 5. Up Front Bethann, 6. A Fiesty Affair, 7. Chancey Lady, 8. Cuz She Can, 9. Cruzin Inya Jammys, and 10. Sprig Hanover.