by Jeff Renton, Woodbine Entertainment Group

Toronto, August 17, 2004… A trio of C$30,000 eliminations for the Fan Hanover Stakes were drawn in the Mohawk Race Office early this afternoon. Saturday evening’s eliminations at Woodbine will kick off the 22nd annual edition of the event for three-year-old pacing fillies. Twenty-four fillies (eight split evenly into each division) will be vying to gain entrance to the C$705,900 final, which will be contested over the Toronto strip on August 28.

The elimination divisions have been carded as races two (8:01 p.m.), four (8:43 p.m.) and six (9:25 p.m.).

A couple of heavyweights are set to duke it out during the first division, as Rainbow Blue (PP2, Ron Pierce) and Invitro (PP4, Paul MacDonell) will lock horns.

Rainbow Blue needs no introduction at all. The bay daughter of Artiscape—Vesta Blue Chip was 6-0-1 in seven starts at two, which included a four-race win streak to cap off the season. Picking up where she left off, the pupil of condition George Teague Jr. went on an incredible 12-race win streak to start this campaign. Bred by Winbak Farm, Rainbow Blue is owned by K And R Racing LLC and Teague Inc. of Delaware. Banking $322,195 during her streak and taking a mark of 1:50, Rainbow Blue’s run came to an end when she broke stride before the quarter-pole in the $310,000 final of the Mistletoe Shalee on Hambletonian Day at the Meadowlands.

On the other hand, Invitro is rolling right now with a streak of her own.

A homebred of Ontario residents Gord Irwin and Murray Ross, Invitro, a Camluck—Keystone Trinidad brown filly, is currently riding a seven-race winning streak which has seen her score in three O.S.S. Gold finals and sweep her division of the Canadian Breeders Championship (CBC). Irwin – who also handles the conditioning – has seen his filly post a 7-1-1 record from ten starts this year and earn $265,430 in the process. Invitro holds a mark of 1:50.3 (taken in the CBC final on July 31) and has career earnings of $453,729.

Here is the complete field for the first elimination:

PP – Horse – Listed Driver – Trainer
1 – Serious Comfort – R. Mayotte – R. Atkin
2 – Rainbow Blue – R. Pierce – G. Teague Jr.
3 – Honey Bunch – J. Edwards – J. Edwards
4 – Invitro – P. MacDonell – G. Irwin
5 – Armbro Bombay – S. Condren – B. McIntosh
6 – Shes My Belle – C. Christoforou – R. Laarman
7 – Double The Fun – L. Ouellette – S. Forbes
8 – Pans Culottes – D. Dube – B. Wallace

The second division looks like it is wide open.

Shakeitupamy (PP1, Luc Ouellette) boasts the fastest mark (1:51.2) of the field. The Western Hanover—Shakeitupbaby filly is a homebred of Crete, Illinois’ John Leahy, who co-owns with conditioner Joe Anderson. Currently 5-2-2 after 11 starts this season, Shakeitupamy has been racing over the one-mile Hawthorne and Balmoral strips and has banked $35,820 in purses.

Fresh from a qualifying mile this morning at Mohawk, L Dees Val (PP3, David Miller) will be making just her third start of the season on Saturday. In her only on-the-board finish this year, the daughter of Dream Away—L Dees Linda was parked the whole mile in her division of the Tarport Hap, yet persevered for the victory in a life’s best 1:51.3 mile. Mark Capone trains L Dees Val for owners Deanna Dumain (New York), Valerie Kutil (Florida) and Frank Baldachino (New Jersey). In ten starts last year, the brown filly was never worse then second and notched eight wins.

Besides Shakeitupamy, driver Luc Ouellette has also been listed on two other horses in the second elimination. Conditioner Ray Van Dreason has put Ouellette down on Front Page News (PP2), while trainer Virgil Morgan Jr. has listed WEG’s leading driver on the Peter Pan filly Pantidepressant, who will leave from post four. Both of the fillies holds marks of 1:52.3 which were taken over five-eighths-of-a-mile tracks.

Here is the complete field for the second division:

PP – Horse – Listed Driver – Trainer
1 – Shakeitupamy – L. Ouellette – J. Anderson
2 – Front Page News – L. Ouellette – R. Van Dreason
3 – L. Dees Val – D. Miller – M. Capone
4 – Pantidepressant – L. Ouellette – V. Morgan Jr.
5 – Allamerican Coco – J. Moiseyev – B. McIntosh
6 – Mai Katie – S. Condren – J. Kopas
7 – Taylor Lynne – J. Jamieson – C. Jamieson
8 – Ladys Portrait – S. Condren – W. Buxton

If anyone saw last year’s final of the Shes A Great Lady Stakes at Woodbine, they could easily say that it was one of the best stretch duels of the year on the WEG circuit. Kikikatie and Artbitration fought tooth and nail down the lane with Kikikatie prevailing by a scant nose in 1:51.3 (a Woodbine track record). In the third and final of the Fan Hanover eliminations, both fillies will meet again.

Both having favourable post positions, Kikikatie will start from post two, while Artbitration has drawn the four-hole.

Conditioner Joe Seekman has listed David Miller to drive Kikikatie, a bay daughter of Real Artist—Katies Lucky Lady. After her breathtaking two-year-old year – which saw her win 14 of 15 races – Kikikatie has compiled a 4-0-1 record and $251,301 in earnings from five races this year. Already a millionaire in Canada, Kikikatie is owned by Holland, Michigan’s L And L Devisser.

Thomas Klosky Jr. and Norm Parker’s Artbitration has also come back well this year after a successful two-year-old campaign. Parker does the training of the bay daughter of Artiscape—Serious Smile and has listed Pat Berry to be in the sulky on Saturday. Artbitration has raced to a 5-3-0 record from 11 starts this year and has banked $136,252. With nine career wins in 19 starts and $307,292 in earnings, Artbitration holds a 1:52.4 career mark which was taken over the Pocono Downs five-eighths on June 12.

Here is the complete field for the last division:

PP – Horse – Listed Driver – Trainer
1 – Illusionist – J. Jamieson – C. Jamieson
2 – Kikikatie – D. Miller – J. Seekman
3 – Special Magic – S. Condren – B. McIntosh
4 – Artbitration – P. Berry – N. Parker
5 – Heathers Gambit – TBA – H. Giannoulis
6 – Loving Successor – M. Vanderkemp – M. Vanderkemp
7 – On This Day – M. Saftic – B. McIntosh
8 – Glowing Report – G. Brennan – J. Silverman

NOTE: Remember When, driven by Chris Christoforou and trained by Bob McIntosh, lowered the stake record last year with a 1:50.4 mile. Also, all of the three divisions will be racing from the retention barn.

Silverman on the scene

With Stakes action quickly coming up on the horizon, Richie Silverman has found his way back into the WEG drivers’ colony.

Tuesday morning at Mohawk, Silverman was in the bike for three of the 13 dashes on the qualifying docket.

“I always look forward to coming up here,” said Silverman, as he briefly took some time away from the floury in the paddock. “I enjoy the racing here and you’re treated very well in Canada in general.”

When Silverman came up last year for late summer and fall action, the 40-year-old made his presence known. And if everything goes his way, there is no reason to think that the trend will change in any way.

“We do have some very nice two-year-olds that are up and coming that I think have the potential to do well here,” said Silverman, who in his career has driven 1,949 winners and has earned over $31 million in purses.

“One of them [the two-year-olds] is a nice trotting colt named Witness To History and a couple of other pacers in particular, Climb The Ladder and Philosopher King, that will both be in the Metro [Pace].”

In the 12th dash, Silverman guided Witness To History (Self Possessed—Olympic Light) to a come-from-behind 10½-length victory in 2:03. It was the bay colt’s second qualifying effort after putting in his first-ever charted line in an August 6 qualifier at the Meadowlands.

Continuing on about his prospects for the Metro, Silverman said: “They both made the final of the Woodrow Wilson. Philosopher King raced tremendously and Climb The Ladder made an unmoved break over to the half. We are going to make a few adjustments on him [Climb The Ladder]. I think he’ll be fine. I don’t think it’s a problem because he has a lot of ability.

“I’m also driving some other nice racehorses like Glowing Report. She should be coming back around now and Town Champion is coming around a little bit
too.”

Since the fields for Saturday’s C$30,000 Fan Hanover eliminations were drawn in the Race Office in the early afternoon, it is now known that Glowing Report has drawn the outside post eight in the last of the three divisions.

“She started out the year well and then she had a period where she had some very rough trips at the Meadowlands and she wasn’t 100 per cent,” Silverman said of Glowing Report, who last fall at Mohawk swept the Three Diamonds at Mohawk and earned $551,949 on the campaign. “Her blood just wasn’t right.

We’ve got her blood good now and her last three starts have been very, very good. I think she’ll be very competitive here in the next few weeks.”

Along with Witness To History, L Dees Val (1:55.4), Galantine Hanover (1:55.3), Harems Luck (1:57), Killingtons Duke (2:00.1), Canaco Lesage (1:54.4), Arctic Hanover (2:01), Hookers Revenge (1:56.2), Raffle Ticket (2:02.3), High Concentrated (1:58.2), El Elina (2:02.2), Gothic Crusader (1:58.2) and Tease Please (2:01.4) all won their dashes on the morning.