This is the time of year you start to get excited every time a new horse arrives and reaches the winner’s circle. The long and dreary winter may have produced some competitive older events but lacked the chance to see any future sophomore stars such as the arrival of a Wiggle It Jiggleit-type figure. On April 13 it may have appeared as if things were about to change when trainer Trond Smedshammer cruised around the Meadowlands surface and scored an impressive 1:53 1/5 victory with Donatover. The 3-year-old by Donato Hanover was making just his second sophomore start and the clocking appeared fast enough to get him into the conversation for stakes competition. “He was very erratic last year,” said Smedshammer. “He wasn’t bad but mentally he wasn’t ready. I raced him at Harrah’s last August and he was cruising along on the lead and I thought we were going to go a mile in about 1:56 when he made a break for no reason.” The break in stride allowed Smedshammer to give Donatover a break for the rest of the season and the decision was made to castrate the horse to hopefully find a more manageable 3-year-old in the process. “Yes he’s a little bit better this year but still learning,” said Smedshammer. “I wouldn’t make much of the time the other night, a lot of horses were going pretty fast.” The returning aged performer Sutton scored in 1:51 3/5 on the same April 13 program and perhaps that better puts Donatover’s mile in some perspective. “I think if he continues to improve he’ll be a nice Pennsylvania Sire Stakes horse,” Smedshammer said. Much like other major stables, Smedshammer’s talent level starts arriving in waves and the best are likely to be returning a little later. If there is one horse in the stable that may garner attention in the near term (Saturday morning) and perhaps on the first Saturday afternoon in August, it is Classichap. “He’s a Chapter Seven half-brother to Market Share,” said Smedshammer when discussing the colt that made just four starts a year ago. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Classichap finished seventh timed in 1:58 2/5 in his Saturday, April 21 qualifier.] Smedshammer had Classichap in a New York Sire Stakes race at Tioga Downs on July 4 and was the 3-2 betting favorite in a field that included eventual juvenile champion Fourth Dimension, who was on the front end when Smedshammer pulled Classichap at the halfway point. “When I pulled him and he picked up speed it felt like we were going to go right past Fourth Dimension,” said Smedshammer, recalling the event. “Then he went off stride.” Bad luck continued for Classichap in his next freshman start as he impressively won in an overnight race at The Meadowlands before being taken down by the judges. “It had to be one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen made there,” said Smedshammer. “We actually got interfered with and somehow got disqualified.” Classichap again faced off with Fourth Dimension at Saratoga in August and showed solid trot coming from off the pace as a runner-up in a 1:57 mile over the track. “He’s been training back very well,” said Smedshammer. “We have him staked pretty well.” Wanda Polisseni’s Purple Haze Stables LLC owns the aforementioned male sophomores, but more than likely her attention may get diverted along the 2018 stakes schedule when Phaetosive sets foot on the racetrack. “I’m taking my time with her,” said Smedshammer of the impressive daughter of Explosive Matter that had to take a back seat to the unbeaten Manchego a year ago but whom the trainer believes will have better luck in 2018. “I thought I had her beaten in Canada,” said Smedshammer, recalling the Peaceful Way final at Mohawk last September. “She just got crooked on me and I couldn’t get her straightened out.” Manchego was in front and Phaetosive had come on the outside to challenge. At the head of the stretch it certainly appeared to be anyone’s race, but Phaetosive, a daughter of Explosive Matter, finished three quarters of a length back of Manchego in the 1:52 4/5 mile. Smedshammer of course has enormous respect for Manchego and the rivalry that he hopes ensues in 2018, and produces better results for the home team. There is still clear frustration that Phaetosive didn’t enjoy a better fate last year, especially how things unfolded in the Breeders Crown held at Hoosier Park in late October. “You have to just throw out the mile. We were down to the half in 55 (4/5) on the track and it was brutal. She really had no shot after that,” Smedshammer said. Fortunately for Smedshammer and those who witnessed the efforts of Phaetosive in elimination races last year, there is more than ample reason to believe she will be a force in 2018. “I’m probably going to skip the first Pennsylvania Sire Stakes with her,” said Smedshammer, aware of the long sophomore season ahead as well as the lateness of the freshman campaign. “She’s definitely a bit bigger this year, though she was a big 2-year-old. She’s filled out a lot.” “I would absolutely be disappointed if she didn’t beat Manchego a few times this year,” said Smedshammer. While some sophomores will qualify for Smedshammer on Saturday, he’s been happy with what he’s seen so far this year from the 4-year-old Chromeo. “I don’t know how high he can go class-wise but he’s showing to be a very good horse,” said Smedshammer of the son of Donato Hanover that showed some stakes talent in limited action at 2 and 3-years of age in the Ray Schnittker stable. Chromeo most recently won in a non-winners of 4 at Yonkers by open lengths. With 19 juveniles in training Smedshammer, likes the group collectively but wasn’t ready to cast a light on one ahead of the next. Right now he’s more focused on getting his 3-year-olds on the track and ready for impending stakes action.