by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Louisville, KY — She prefers to relegate any physical exertion until the afternoon hours, so Bramalea Hanover realizes her miles in the afternoons and evenings are when it counts.

“I guess she’s just not a morning person,” Bob McIntosh, the filly’s conditioner, said with a laugh. “She doesn’t like to get up in the morning and can be a little cranky when you go to jog her, but she is still a very nice filly to be around.”

The daughter of the late Triple Crown victor Windsong’s Legacy and Bramasole, who is owned by Susan Grange of Cheltenham, Ontario, was unraced at two, but has collected seven wins from eight pari-mutuel miles as a sophomore. The filly is the first foal out of her dam, who captured the 2004 Buckette and also finished second in the Breeders Crown that same year. Bramalea Hanover is currently on a five race win streak and established her mark of 1:56 on April 19 in the $59,400 final of the Celia’s Counsel Series at Woodbine Racetrack.

“She was immature as a 2-year-old and never raced,” McIntosh explained. “She was achy all over, so we just turned her out. Sue Grange knows horses and was willing to wait on her which was a big plus.”

Even after Bramalea Hanover returned to the shedrow, her trainer still wasn’t sure what kind of career she would have.

New Image Media photo

Bramalea Hanover has banked $66,514 so far in 2010.

“She had a decent gait, but never really showed a whole lot as a 2-year-old,” McIntosh said. “When I brought her in the fall, she was still kind of a longshot. She was carrying a lot of extra weight and she had to find the fun in it. She wouldn’t train by herself at all, so we trained her in company and that seemed to be the key for her.”

Other than her aversion to morning activity, the filly is usually fairly even tempered, but she has recently realized what it means to have her picture taken.

“She’s pretty mellow, but she’s getting a little bit of confidence and starting to think she’s somebody now,” McIntosh said.

Since they started with her in February and nothing carded seemed to suit her this month, Bramalea Hanover’s connections decided to give her a bit of a breather and prepare for the rest of the season.

“We decided to back off her for May and are now looking toward the Casual Breeze and Elegantimage,” McIntosh said. “I hope to give her a couple of qualifiers before those races and she is staked to everything else, like the Hambletonian Oaks and Breeders Crown.

“It’s a very deep crop of fillies, but she has really impressed me,” he continued. “The best thing about her is she has a nice set of lungs on her. I don’t think fast fractions will bother her. She is very versatile and can come from behind or be in front, but I think the best part of her mile is the end of it.”