by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Louisville, KY — She wasn’t physically imposing but Angelette Hanover did possess two attributes that her owner was seeking.

“I was trying to buy a mare that had Amour Angus as close up in her pedigree as possible, so Trond Smedshammer and I went to the farm (Hanover Shoe) to look at some trotters,” explained Dr. Michael Andrew of Gorham, Maine. “I wanted to look at her because of her pedigree (Amour Angus is her granddam). She was a little on the small side and not a remarkable looking horse, but something about her head reminded me of the old mare. After we had her turned out in the paddock she trotted like the wind. She looked really great, so I was intent to buy her and I did.”

The 3-year-old daughter of Yankee Glide-Angelina Hall was purchased by Andrew, a professor at the University of New Hampshire, for $110,000 at the 2009 Standardbred Horse Sale and was turned over to Smedshammer to commence her career on the track.

Lisa photo

Angelette Hanover (#4 in photo) was a 1:56.3 winner in a NJSS leg on July 7, 2010.

Angelette Hanover is the fourth foal, and to date has earned the most purse money, out of her unraced dam, who is a half sister to Emile Cas El (Garland Lobell, 1:57.1f, $245,199), Conway Hall (Garland Lobell, 1:53.4, $818,884), Angus Hall (Garland Lobell, 1:54.3, $830,654), and Andover Hall (Garland Lobell, 1:51.3, $870,510).

The filly has trotted 13 pari-mutuel miles with a career record of 2-3-3, a bankroll of $297,332 and a lifetime mark of 1:56.3.

Angelette Hanover’s first start was a third place finish in a $26,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes contest at the Meadowlands on June 24, 2010. After a victory in a similar event and a fifth place finish in the $200,000 New Jersey Sire Stake final, she finished fifth in the $437,000 Merrie Annabelle final, second in the $161,800 Kentuckiana Stallion Management and capped her freshman campaign off with a second place finish in the $600,000 Breeders Crown final.

This year she was behind only Jezzy in the $75,500 Historic-Coaching Club Trotting Oaks and third in the $237,714 Hudson Filly Trot, once again trailing Jezzy and Lady Rainbow.

The filly will make her fifth start of 2011 in tonight’s $257,000 Delvin Miller, which is Race 6 at the Meadowlands, and will depart from post five.

“I’ve been happy with how she’s raced,” said Andrew, who is the president of the Maine Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association and a former commissioner for the Maine State Harness Racing Commission. “I was hoping she would be pretty good; she’s got the pedigree to do it. I would say I was a little surprised with how good she has been, because you never know with these kinds of things.

“Last year she was very good and this year she probably isn’t quite as sharp as we had hoped, and possibly hasn’t improved as much as we had hoped, but she is doing okay.

“Some of them improve a lot and grow quite a bit, but she’s not much bigger than last year and that could account for it to some degree. But I’m happy with her whether she grows or not. She’s going to make a great broodmare and so I’ll be happy with her no matter what she does.”

Andrew, a former world-class polo player, owns the 65-acre Three Crows Farm where he conducts his Standardbred breeding operation, in addition to raising sheep and chickens. Ultimately that is where Angelette Hanover will spend her days when she is ready to enter her second career as a mother.

“That’s exactly what I bought her for,” he said. “She’s a pleasant horse; not nasty at all and very easy to work around. She’s a nice little mare in the stall and everyone gets along well with her. She has no bad habits that I know of, but like most fillies some days she is temperamental. Some days she just wants to take off and go and other times, she would just as soon watch them.”

Angelette Hanover’s way is paid into nearly all the top trotting contests for her age, sex and gait, but her connections are allowing her to tell them what races to target.

“She’s staked up to most everything,” Andrew said. “Where she will go depends on how she goes this weekend and how she is doing next week. After that we will decide whether she will go in all of them (the big races) or not.”

$257,000 Delvin Miller Memorial
PP-Horse-Driver-Trainer-ML
1-Sizzling Volo-David Miller-Jan Johnson-10-1
2-Hey Mister-Brian Sears-Ross Croghan-2-1
3-Tawesome More-Andy Miller-Tony Alagna-15-1
4-Iron Lady-Luc Ouellette-Jackie Rousse-15-1
5-Angelette Hanover-Yannick Gingras-Trond Smedshammer-8-1
6-Wincinnatti-Dexter Dunn-Brett Bittle-15-1
7-Action On George-Tim Tetrick-Virgil Morgan, Jr.-8-1
8-Lady Andover-Mike Lachance-Bob Stewart-5-1
9-Lost Symbol-Trond Smedshammer-Trond Smedshammer-4-1
10-Creme De Cocoa-D.R. Ackerman-D.R. Ackerman-15-1
11-Thatsnotmyname-Ron Pierce-Jimmy Takter-10-1