by Dean A. Hoffman

by Dean Hoffman

Recently members of the U.S. Harness Writers’ Association were asked to vote on the best trotting and the best pacing broodmare of the 2006 season. For each gait, a slate of three candidates was presented.

USHWA members were asked to select Bold Dreamer, Cressida Hanover, or D Train for the Trotting Broodmare of the Year honors.

Bold Dreamer is the dam of Pampered Princess who looked to me like she never broke a sweat in many of her wins. John Campbell drove her with restraint, never asking her for undue effort, but she still became the first freshman trotting filly ever to shade 1:55 in a race when she stopped the time in 1:54.4 at Lexington.

Pampered Princess was second when Brian Sears filled in for Campbell in the Breeders Crown, and later she fell apart in the Goldsmith Maid at the Big M, but she is surely one special filly.

Bold Dreamer is also the dam of the of the talented Was It A Dream, a winner of $272,423 last year as 3-year-old, bringing his career total to $713,441.

Those are the first two foals of Bold Dreamer, so it should be no surprise that her third foal, Satin Pillows by Conway Hall, fetched a bid of $350,000 last fall.

Bold Dreamer has a filly by Windsong’s Legacy who just became a yearling, and she is in foal to Striking Sahbra. She’s owned by Bill Weaver’s Valley High Stable of Freehold, N.J.

Cressida Hanover’s first foal was the great, grand, and glorious Glidemaster 3, 1:51.1, and we hardly need to detail his accomplishments in 2006. He went off to stud with earnings of more than $1.9 million, and his book was opened and closed in the blink of an eye.

Cressida Hanover also had a 2-year-old racing in 2006, but he wound up with a goose egg in earnings. She has a yearling colt by Cantab Hall, and was bred back to that promising young stallion. Cressida Hanover is the pride of Brittany Farms.

Like Bold Dream, D Train is a daughter of Donerail, and she also hit it big with her first two foals. The first was Here Comes Herbie 3, 1:52 ($365,541), a Hambo heat winner, and the second was the gifted Donato Hanover 2, 1:55, everyone’s overwhelming pick as the 2007 Hambo favorite.

D Train’s daughter Decimal Hanover by SJ’s Caviar was a $260,000 item at Harrisburg last fall, and she has a yearling filly from the first crop by Revenue S. She is now in foal to Windsong’s Legacy, and she is a standout member of the Hanover Shoe Farms broodmare band.

On the pacing side of the ledger, the three finalists were Babe Ruthless, Grand Lady, and Jasmine Hanover.

Babe Ruthless was represented on the track in 2006 by her son Total Truth, the richest pacer in training last year. He earned just shy of $1.5 million last year, and was a consistent factor in the sophomore pacing classics.

Also in 2006, Babe Ruthless had older pacers by Artsplace on the track: Grecian Art, a 7-year-old, earned $41,470, while the 10-year-old Southwind Bionic earned just $275.

Babe Ruthless is owned by Judy and “Tad” Egloff of Pennsylvania, and they sold a Western Hanover filly from her last fall for $150,000. She was bred last year to Rocknroll Hanover.

Grand Lady is a daughter of Matt’s Scooter, and she had a pair of stars on the track in 2006 in Glowing Report, a winner of $569,268, and Perfect Union, a winner of $466,559. Glowing Report has been a standout pacing lass for several seasons, while Perfect Union locked horns with the bulls in the sophomore pacing ranks.

Grand Lady’s 4-year-old daughter West End also raced in 2006, earning $41,967. She is owned by Fair Winds Farm and was bred back to Artsplace in 2006.

The third candidate for Pacing Broodmare of the year is Jasmine Hanover, dam of Little Miss Dragon, a winner of $383,375 in taking four of her 10 tries. Her sophomore son Artstanding banked $217,495 in 2006, taking his career total past $600,000 for trainer Tom Fanning.

Rusty’s Revenge, a 4-year-old son of Cam’s Card Shark out of Jasmine Hanover, also competed last year, earning $13,791 in a dozen starts.

Her 2006 yearling filly by Life Sign brought a bid of $110,000 and she has a filly by No Pan Intended to sell in 2007.

Jasmine Hanover was bred and is still owned by Hanover Shoe Farms. She was bred to the late Artsplace in 2006.

What mare would you pick for Trotting Broodmare of the Year? And for Pacing Broodmare of the Year? Can you think of any other mares that deserve consideration for these honors?