by Gabe Prewitt, for The Red Mile

Lexington, KY — The lighting in the tote board was well tested on Thursday evening (August 19) at The Red Mile, as 52-1 longshot Christiana Hanover (Andover Hall-CR Calendar Girl) came from seventh turning for home and unleashed a furious stretch rally to get up in the absolute final stride to win the $221,500 Moni Maker by a neck in 1:54.2.

Nigel Soult photo

Christiana Hanover was a 1:54.2 winner in the Moni Maker at The Red Mile.

Riina Rekila, a 29-year old female originally from Finland, did the driving and also trains the 3-year-old filly that was purchased at the Harrisburg yearling sale in 2008 for $11,000. Not only was it the biggest win in Rekila’s young career, but the winner’s share nearly doubled the lifetime earnings of Christiana Hanover who came into the $221,500 Moni Maker having earned just over $121,000, which was the lowest amount in the 12-horse field.

Bramalea Hanover (Ron Pierce) left hard from post six to take the field through an opening quarter of :27.1. Bar Slide (Tim Tetrick), the 6-5 favorite, was caught wide through the opening quarter and pressed on for the lead down the backstretch as the field reached the half in a hotly contested :55 seconds.

Bar Slide continued to front the field through three-quarters in 1:23.1, with early pacesetter Bramalea Hanover sitting second, while Ultimate Cameron (Trevor Ritchie) raced third.

The early fractions took their toll on the favorite as they hit the top of stretch, with Cantab It All (Daniel Dube) right alongside in second. Glide Power (Brian Sears) tipped three-wide as they hit the top of the lane, while Christiana Hanover, the eventual winner, tipped four-wide.

Those two sprinted away from the field down the lane side by side, with Rekila urging her charge, while Brian Sears was driving Glide Power. In the end though, it was Christiana Hanover prevailing by a neck over Glide Power. Bramalea Hanover ended up finishing two lengths back in third, while Bar Slide was fourth.

The Finnish trainer-driver was obviously ecstatic after the race, and was “extremely proud” of her filly. She should have also been extremely proud of herself, as she was competing against some of the top drivers in North America. Nine drivers in the 12-horse field were not regular Red Mile drivers and flew in solely for the $221,500 Moni Maker race.

Racing continues at The Red Mile this season on Sunday, Monday and Thursday evenings, with a first post at 6:30 p.m. The $2.4 million Kentucky sired championships will be raced on Monday, September 12.