by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Harrisburg 2010- Murray Brown from USTA on Vimeo.

Harrisburg, PA — Trainer Staffan Lind failed to get Donato Hanover, but he hopes he got the next best thing on Monday.

Lind purchased Dream On Hanover, a full sister to 2007 Horse of the Year Donato Hanover, for $260,000 as the opening session of the Standardbred Horse Sale neared the finish line. Dream On Hanover was hip No. 252, out of 259 slated for auction Monday, and was the highest-priced horse of the day.

USTA/Ken Weingartner photo

Dream On Hanover topped the first day of the sale with a price of $260,000.

Dream On Hanover was purchased by Lind for Swedish owner Karl-Erik Bender, who is opening a new training center in Vero Beach, Florida. Dream On Hanover, a daughter of Andover Hall-D Train, will head to the Sunshine State next week.

“She is a big powerful filly with a very nice gait, I think,” Lind said. “I really liked Donato at the sale, but I couldn’t afford to buy him at that time. Since then, I’ve looked at all the D Trains and I think this is the best one I’ve seen since he sold.”

Lind, who is opening a public stable after spending several years with Celebrity Farms, thinks Dream On Hanover has all the qualities of a top filly.

“You want them to have a good gait, good conformation, and you want them to look smart and able. It’s a package deal,” said Lind, who will continue to train Celebrity Farms’ horses while taking on new clients.

Dream On Hanover’s sale was the highlight of a strong opening day. The average price for the 248 horses sold was $52,157, an increase of 1.4 percent over last year’s $51,432.

Pacers averaged $51,118 this year, compared to $46,634 in 2009. The average price for pacing colts was $53,592, up from $47,802, while the fillies went for an average of $47,431, up from $44,873.

Trotters averaged $53,248 this year, compared to $59,183 last year. The colts averaged $56,403, down from $66,550 in 2009, while the fillies averaged $48,612, down from $53,361. The average for the colts was near the mark from 2008 — $58,921 — while the average for the fillies was ahead of 2008 by more than $16,000.

“It was very solid,” said Murray Brown, the sale’s general manager. “I thought we had a very strong consignment; probably the greatest group of individuals we’ve ever had. I think we were well rewarded for it. I was happy with everything. We were strong right through. There wasn’t an area where we were weak.”

Brown hopes the momentum carries into Tuesday.

“Generally speaking, the sale is a little weighted; the first day is better than the second day,” he said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean the best horses are going to come out of the first day, but commercially speaking they generally outsell the second day. But I think on a relative basis, the second day will be better than the second day last year.”

Click here for complete results from the Standardbred Horse Sale.