by John Pawlak, the U.S. Trotting Association

Columbus, OH — Avis Rent-A-Car was famous for “trying harder,” and it seems as if Nina Simmonds and Our Horse Cents Stables’ Golden Receiver, who finished second to Foiled Again in the 2012 Dan Patch Awards divisional voting, has taken to that philosophy.

Lisa photo

Golden Receiver was impressive in sweeping the Presidential Series at the Meadowlands.

Actually, Golden Receiver didn’t appear to have to try too hard in sweeping through four January starts and as a result has been named January’s Horse of the Month by the U.S. Trotting Association.

Golden Receiver, an 8-year-old winner of $1.7 million trained by Mark Harder and driven by Tim Tetrick, began the month with a wire-to-wire, 1:48.4 victory in a Meadowlands Free For All, and then swept through two preliminary legs of the Presidential Series for Free For All pacers, leading at every call in both starts, in 1:49 and 1:48.4.

In the $103,500 Presidential Final Golden Receiver was challenged early by Mr Hasani N, but the latter broke stride after the quarter pole and scattered the field — but not before the former had secured a lead he would not relinquish and won for the 14th time in his last 17 Meadowlands starts.

Prior to the Presidential Final, which Golden Receiver won for the second consecutive year, Harder praised his star pacer’s readiness.

“The way he’s acting, the way he looks, I don’t see any reason why he can’t come back and do pretty close to what he did last year,” Harder said in an interview with Ken Weingartner of Harness Racing Communications. “That’s wishful thinking, maybe. As far as being sound, he’s as sound as he’s ever been in his life. I don’t see why he can’t do it.”