by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Harrisburg, PA — John and Tom Cancelliere came to the Standardbred Horse Sale hoping to buy two horses. It cost them $1.25 million, but they accomplished their goal.

The Cancellieres spent a record $825,000 to purchase trotting colt Detour Hanover, a full brother to 2007 Horse of the Year Donato Hanover, and paid $430,000 to get pacing colt Some Of The Beach, a full brother to 2008 Horse of the Year Somebeachsomewhere.

Brothers Tom (left) and John Cancelliere with Detour Hanover.

Detour Hanover’s sale shattered the record for a Standardbred yearling sold at public auction, topping the $650,000 for trotting colt Experience Victory in 1999.

“I didn’t want to go that high,” John Cancelliere said about Detour Hanover, “but what are you going to do? You want the best.”

As the bidding on Detour Hanover escalated, so did the buzz in the Pennsylvania State Farm Show Complex. Once the price surpassed the record level, the crowd cheered every time the bid was increased. When the hammer fell for the Cancellieres, the brothers celebrated with high-fives and a chest bump.

“It was exciting,” said Murray Brown, the Standardbred Horse Sale’s vice president and general manager. “That’s the No. 1 word to describe it. The Cancelliere brothers are a breath of fresh air. Their enthusiasm is awesome and they really enjoy their horses.

“The two they bought today, I hope they earn them $20 million. There’s nothing I’d like more than for them to have a run of success.”

Detour Hanover is a son of Andover Hall, out of the mare D Train. He is a full brother to Donato Hanover, who won 19 of 22 career races and earned $2.99 million. He won the $1.5 million Hambletonian Stakes in 2007 on his way to Horse of the Year honors.

USTA/Mark Hall photos

Some Of The Beach sold for $430,000.

Some Of The Beach is a son of Mach Three, out of the mare Wheres The Beach. He is a full brother to Somebeachsomewhere, who won 20 of 21 lifetime races and earned $3.22 million. Somebeachsomewhere was Horse of the Year in 2008 after winning multiple stakes, including the $1.47 million North America Cup and the $500,000 Breeders Crown.

Tom Cancelliere will train both horses. The Cancellieres, who are from New Jersey and have a construction supply business, won the $500,000 Breeders Crown Open Pace with Bettor Sweet on Oct. 29 at Woodbine Racetrack.

“We said we were going to come out and put together a horse farm to be reckoned with,” Cancelliere added. “And it will be a horse farm to be reckoned with.”

Moments after John Cancelliere made the winning $430,000 bid for Some Of The Beach at the Standardbred Horse Sale, Cancelliere’s brother Tom laughed when asked if he would feel pressure training the horse.

“Everything he buys I have pressure with,” Tom Cancelliere said, grinning at his brother. “You want to know do I have any more pressure? No. He wants to buy high-end racehorses. Just lay one more on me.

“I’m very excited,” he continued, adding with another laugh, “This one is another one that I can only mess up, I can’t make.

“He’s beautiful. Our veterinarian gave him very high marks and we don’t have to talk about his pedigree. The rest of it was just where he was going to stop on the block. We consider ourselves very lucky to have gotten him.”

Some Of The Beach was bred by Stephanie Smith-Rothaug, who also bred Somebeachsomewhere.

“He was the last horse we looked at last night,” John Cancelliere said. “We saved him for the end. They put his pajamas on to go to bed and I knew that I was going to take him today. He was just spectacular. I couldn’t sleep last night. I wouldn’t eat. He was coming home with us.

“You can tell that he’s a pampered horse. Now we’ll finish pampering him. He’s just beautiful. There’s no other word you can say. Look at him: he’s ready to go now. He’s got everything. I’m very pleased.”