by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Louisville, KY — When Richard “Nifty” Norman was asked what has made Beatgoeson Hanover such a consistent race mare over her four-year career, he was succinct.

“Her will to win,” said the Allentown, N.J. resident. “She never gives up.”

Currently on a four-race winning streak, including a $29,100 division of the Miss Versatility at Woobine on May 20, the 5-year-old daughter of Andover Hall and Beat The Wheel was purchased by Norman on behalf of Neven Botica for $40,000 as a yearling at the 2009 Standardbred Horse Sale. He liked her pedigree and thought her second career could be more valuable than her first.

New Image Media photo

Beatgoeson Hanover has banked more than $1 million in her career.

“I liked the look of her and my friend that owns her is Australian,” Norman said. “He was looking for something he could perhaps take home to make a broodmare and I thought this family might be liked a little bit commercially over there.”

By Defiant Yankee and now owned by Hanover Shoe Farms, Beat The Wheel earned $303,178 during her racing days. In the breeding shed, however, is where she has shown. Her first foal, Berndt Hanover (Valley Victory, 2,1:57.4, $264,025), was a $400,000 yearling at the 1998 Standardbred Horse Sale; her second foal, Lady Luck Hanover (Donerail, 2,T1:58.3, $6,712), was a $200,000 yearling at the same sale in 2000; her sixth foal, Forbidden (Malabar Man, 1:59.3f, $15,317), was a $125,000 yearling at the 2006 Standardbred Horse Sale; her seventh foal, Birdsong Hanover (Windsong’s Legacy, 3,Q1:59.3, $6,900), was a $100,000 yearling in 2007 at the Standardbred Horse Sale; and her ninth foal, Defiant Donato (Donato Hanover, 3,1:55.1f, $35,070), sold at the 2011 Standardbred Horse Sale for $125,000.

Beatgoeson Hanover debuted with an eighth place finish in a $10,000 leg of the Kindergarten Series at the Meadowlands on July 21, 2010. She bounced back to break her maiden at Pocono Downs in a $20,000 division of The Stallion Series on August 4, then reeled off three straight victories in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes company, including the $200,000 final, before finishing the season with a win and a third in legs of the Kindergarten Series at Vernon Downs and a ninth in the $134,000 final. She made $172,546 from eight starts.

Her 3-year-old campaign was where the filly really picked up a bunch of checks. With a record of 16-8-6-0, she was second placed first in the $529,380 Elegantimage final; captured a $30,000 Duenna division and a $65,332 Zweig filly split; and was second in the $233,400 Moni Maker, as well as the $151,990 Matron Stake final. Her total bankroll was $557,414.

Beatgoeson Hanover, last year at four, didn’t have quite the same season she produced at age three, but still put up a record of 19-6-2-1 and earned $230,740. Her biggest victory was in the $191,000 Muscle Hill at Vernon Downs. She also won her Breeders Crown elimination, but was tenth in the final after an uncovered journey on the outside.

This year, the mare really seems to be putting it all together. Her record stands at 8-4-1-0 with $61,350 in purse money and she lowered her lifetime mark to 1:52.1 at Pocono Downs on April 27.

“A lot of horses don’t get the chance to mature fully, but she has gotten better each year,” Norman said. “One of the things we have had with her is she tends to tie up. She has gotten better with that, too. For example, last year I was pretty confident with her going into the final (Breeders Crown), but we had a batch of muddy weather up there in Canada and it was a detention barn. That’s where she tied up, but we are hoping for better things this year as she seems to handle everything much better. Now whether that is due to her muscles being more mature or that she is just psychologically smarter and knows how to handle tough situations better I don’t know.”

Beatgoeson Hanover’s next engagement is in the Armbro Flight (eliminations on June 7 and the final on June 15) and she will be pointed towards similar contests.

“We are just going to try and concentrate on trotting mare races,” Norman said. “There is a race at Vernon, the Muscle Hill, she won last year; races in Kentucky in the fall; and then the Breeders Crown at Pocono at the end of the year. We are hoping for better for her.”