by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Ken Weingartner

Freehold, NJ — Anndrovette’s home is in New Jersey, but the female pacer certainly seems to make herself at home in Canada; particularly when it comes to the Roses Are Red Stakes at Ontario’s Mohawk Racetrack.

The 9-year-old has won the Roses Are Red a record three times and goes for No. 4 on Saturday (June 18) in the C$370,000 final at Mohawk. Anndrovette enters the race off a 1:49.4 win by a nose over Sandbetweenurtoes in her elimination last weekend. It was the mare’s first victory in seven starts this season and her best win time since capturing the 2014 Roses Are Red — the third of her threepeat — in 1:49.1.

For her career, Anndrovette has won nine of 22 races at Mohawk and hit the board a total of 17 times.

“She really likes Canada and she’s done really well in the Roses Are Red up there,” said Tim Tetrick, who is Anndrovette’s regular driver. “She raced great last week; it was a really good mile. She’s a classy old mare, that’s for sure. She never seems to go away; not for the whole season. She’s older now, but you usually get three or four good starts out of her. She makes about $400,000 a year, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

New Image Media photo

Anndrovette (No. 5 in photo) enters the Roses Are Red final off a 1:49.4 win by a nose over Sandbetweenurtoes in her elimination last weekend.

Anndrovette has won 45 of 135 career races and earned $3.51 million in purses. She enters the Roses Are Red needing $237,102 to surpass Eternal Camnation’s record of $3.74 million for the top spot among all female pacers in harness racing history.

In addition, Anndrovette received four consecutive Dan Patch Award trophies from 2011-2014, setting the record for an older female pacer and equaling Eternal Camnation’s record for the most awards given to any pacer in history. Anndrovette, a daughter of Riverboat King out of the mare Easy Miss, also has received four O’Brien Awards for best older female pacer in Canada.

She is owned by Bamond Racing and Joe Davino.

“I’ll never count her out,” trainer Jeff Bamond Jr. said. “Anytime I’ve ever counted her out before she comes back to prove me wrong.

He then added with a laugh, “Maybe I will count her out. Maybe that will do it.”

Prior to the start in her Roses Are Red elimination, Anndrovette raced this season exclusively at Yonkers Raceway. She had a second-place finish and two thirds at the half-mile oval in New York. For her career, she has won 13 of 45 starts at Yonkers, but posted only two wins at The Hilltop since 2013.

“I know Yonkers isn’t her cup of tea,” Tetrick said. “It hurts her that she doesn’t get to race as much on a big track. (Last week) was the best she’s raced all year. I think she’ll be fine. She’s very tough and she likes to win.”

Anndrovette rallied from sixth place at the midpoint of last week’s elimination to post her triumph. Also winning eliminations were Lady Shadow, who claimed last year’s Roses Are Red trophy, and Solar Sister.

Lady Shadow won her elim by 3-1/4 lengths over Yagonnakissmeornot in 1:50.2 with Doug McNair in the sulky for trainer Ron Adams. Solar Sister won her elim by 1-1/2 lengths over Katie Said in 1:51, also with McNair handling the driving. McNair will sit behind Solar Sister, trained by his dad Gregg, in the final. Yannick Gingras is listed to drive Lady Shadow.

Anndrovette will start the final from post No. 4, with Solar Sister leaving from post two and Lady Shadow from three.

“You get a good spot and hope it works out,” Bamond said. “I don’t know what Tim will do; I don’t know if he’ll leave. She was real good from off the pace after being on the lead pretty much her whole life, so maybe he takes her off the gate and it works out.”

Following is the field for the Roses Are Red in post order.

PP-Horse-Driver-Trainer
1. Waasmula – Trevor Henry – Bruce Goit
2. Solar Sister – Doug McNair – R. Gregg McNair
3. Lady Shadow – Yannick Gingras – Ron Adams
4. Anndrovette – Tim Tetrick – Jeff Bamond Jr.
5. Sandbetweenurtoes – Jody Jamieson – Richard Moreau
6. Devil Child – Brett Miller – Chris Oakes
7. Ms Mac N Cheese – Sylvain Filion – Richard Moreau
8. Wrangler Magic – Sylvain Filion – Stephane Larocque
9. Yagonnakissmeornot – Jody Jamieson – Rene Allard
10. Katie Said – Brett Miller – Jimmy Takter