by Mark McKelvie, WEG Communications
Campbellville, ON — The value of picking your post position after an elimination victory isn’t getting to select your exact spot on the gate, but rather eliminating any chance of drawing a poor post. A half-length is all that separated rookie pacing filly Happy Hannah from securing a great post position to drawing the dreaded 10-hole in the C$427,000 She’s A Great Lady final on Saturday (Sept. 3) at Mohawk.
Trained by Mark Steacy, Happy Hannah entered last Saturday’s eliminations with a victory and a pair of seconds in three starts. The daughter of Well Said-Hallie Gallie was sent to the front by driver Randy Waples and led the field into the backstretch before heavy favorite Candlelight Dinner made a brush to the lead.
Happy Hannah was in a fantastic spot to make the final following the undefeated leader. However, victory became an option when Candlelight Dinner began to fade at the top of the lane and Happy Hannah angled from the rail to take over the top spot.
Appearing to be on her way to a victory, the Steacy trainee got picked off in deep stretch by a charging That’s The Ticket and finished second.
“She cleared a little bit too early in the stretch and being young she got lost,” said Steacy. “I think if she would have just come a little bit later she would’ve got the job done.”
The second-place effort secured Happy Hannah a spot in the rich final, her connections $6,738 plus a guaranteed check in the final and kept her record of top two finishes intact. The downside to finishing second was landing post 10 in the open draw.
Staying away from the negatives, Happy Hannah appears to be a Grand Circuit player and Steacy believes she is getting stronger with each start.
“Unfortunately (finishing second) cost us the post position, but she has only had three or four starts and she is getting better each time.”
The first foal out of Hallie Gallie, a daughter of the great Galleria, Happy Hannah sold for $90,000 at last year’s Standardbred Horse Sale in Harrisburg and showed her trainer talent and some sass training down.
“She was a little witch,” noted Steacy. “She was hard to break and she still is a little bit of a witch, but I like that little attitude in them anyways. She always showed a real nice gait and lots of ability from the start.”
After finishing second in her debut on July 25, Happy Hannah broke her maiden the next week in 1:53.4, pacing a :26.3 final quarter. Through four starts, she has banked $35,370 for owners Stan Klemencic, Hudson Standrdbrd Stb Inc. and Hutt Racing Stable.
While Happy Hannah will have to overcome post 10 in Saturday’s final, her stablemate Obvious Blue Chip did just slightly better in the draw by landing post eight.
The daughter of Roll With Joe-Put On A Clinic was making just her third start in last Saturday’s elimination and finished fifth to qualify for the final. A $35,000 purchase out of Harrisburg, Obvious Blue Chip is owned by NLG Racing Stable and Stephen Klunowski.
A winner in her career debut, Steacy pointed out that he didn’t originally plan on entering Obvious Blue Chip in the event, but got his arm twisted by her original driver.
“Actually James (MacDonald) talked me into putting her in that race because she raced pretty good the start before.”
Obvious Blue Chip rallied in her elimination from last at the top of the lane to finish fifth by pacing home in :27.2. She has paced a final quarter of :27.2 or better in all three of her starts.
“She raced really well,” said Steacy. “She got shuffled back and still came on and got in, unfortunately she got the eight hole, but if they go hard at the front, she could sneak in there for a piece.”
Obvious Blue Chip will attempt to put her strong closing speed to use and rally for a share in Saturday’s final, but don’t expect to see Happy Hannah at the back of the pack.
“I wouldn’t doubt that Hannah will probably have to go a little bit at the start,” Steacy said. “You can’t pull last, I don’t think, but that will be up to Randy (Waples).”
Steacy’s fillies will have to play with the hands they have been dealt for Saturday, but whether they can make some noise or not, the future appears bright.
Here is the full field for Saturday’s C$427,000 She’s A Great Lady final.
PP-Horse-Trainer
1. Candlelight Dinner–Casie Coleman
2. That’ The Ticket–Chris Ryder
3. World Apart–Linda Toscano
4. Idyllic Beach–Jimmy Takter
5. Everyones Watching–Tony Alagna
6. Agent Q–Aaron Lambert
7. Awash–Tony Alagna
8. Obvious Blue Chip–Mark Steacy
9. Blameitonthenight–Tony Alagna
10. Happy Hannah–Mark Steacy
- Stage set for Super Saturday at Mohawk (Wednesday, August 31, 2016)
The C$661,000 Metro Pace and C$616,000 Canadian Pacing Derby will highlight Saturday’s (Sept. 3) C$2.4 million card at Mohawk Racetrack. One of the biggest nights of the season, the Canadian Pacing Derby and Metro card will put the sport’s top older pacers and the stars of the future on display. The C$427,000 She’s A Great Lady is also a main event on the card.
- Lucrative Grand Circuit weekend on the horizon (Wednesday, August 31, 2016)
A busy holiday weekend of Grand Circuit action is led by a pair of Triple Crown events at Yonkers Raceway on Saturday (Sept. 3). The Hilltop oval will host the $500,000 Yonkers Trot for 3-year-old trotters and the $500,000 Messenger Stakes for 3-year-old pacers. These races will be the second legs in the Triple Crown for their respective gaits.
- O’Sullivan starters ready for Metro (Wednesday, August 31, 2016)
Trainer Tony O’Sullivan will send out Beyond Delight, who won his Metro Pace elimination at 20-1, and Calvin K, who finished second to Windsong Napoleon in his elimination, in the C$661,000 Metro Pace final for 2-year-old males on Saturday (Sept. 3) at Mohawk Racetrack.
- State Treasurer ready to defend Pacing Derby title (Thursday, September 01, 2016)
Dr. Ian Moore trainee State Treasurer, the 2015 O’Brien Award Horse of the Year, returns to the stakes ranks to defend his Canadian Pacing Derby crown Saturday (Sept. 3) at Mohawk Racetrack. State Treasurer, who won last year’s edition in 1:47.4, is one of two starters sent out by Moore in Saturday’s C$616,000 contest.
- Gingras is hoping for big Saturday at Mohawk (Friday, September 02, 2016)
Yannick Gingras will head to Mohawk Racetrack on Saturday (Sept. 3) to drive the morning line favorites in both the She’s A Great Lady Stakes and Metro Pace, and the driver is impressed with both of the Jimmy Takter-trained horses.
- Mohawk ready for Canadian Pacing Derby and Metro (Friday, September 02, 2016)
Mohawk Racetrack is set to host its annual end of summer bash Saturday (Sept. 3), better known as the Canadian Pacing Derby and Metro Pace.