Harness: Donzel Hanover has a chance to carry on Sebastian K's legacy

While some always appear to root for the favorites, I find in harness racing it's much easier -- and perhaps more satisfying -- to root for the underdogs. Those that start at the bottom and have a long climb to the top deserve admiration for the effort and accolades if they are fortunate enough to overcome all obstacles.

The late Sebastian K was an underdog when he began a breeding career at Hanover Shoe Farms. With his speed and power on display at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono in a world record 1:49 mile, one could see why breeders might want to seek him out as a stallion option. On the other side, a long and difficult path of attempting to stand a non-North American-bred stallion stood in the way of market success. Ultimately Sebastian K's legacy as a stallion was short-lived and now we're left with the hope that from a small group of horses it can live on in a manner to do the world champion some justice.

Trainer Clifton Green has been mining the yearling sales for some time looking for a potential star. He came across a son of Sebastian K that caught his eye and for $20,000 and was able to buy Donzel Hanover at auction in the fall of 2020.

"He had a keen eye," Green said, recalling his impressions of the son of Sebastian K. "Sebastian K was a very fast horse and that's what I was looking to find."

For Green, who says he looks for horses in the $20,000-35,000 range, Donzel Hanover was a good option from the third crop of Sebastian K, who in his first year hadn't exactly set the trotting world ablaze. While the stallion's third crop was much smaller, there was enough to choose from and Green may have found the best of the bunch.

If Donzel Hanover was meant to be the best, it was hard to believe that judging from last year's trials and errors on the racetrack.

"I thought he was a 1:54-1:55 trotter last year," said Green of Donzel Hanover, who managed to go winless in nine starts despite the obvious optimism. "I probably should have stopped with him earlier, but I just kept thinking he would straighten out."

Green saw that Donzel Hanover had a world of speed but unfortunately in race situations would find ways to make mistakes, frustrating the conditioner but at the same time indicating enough promise to look forward to a 3-year-old season.

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"I'd say it was more mental with him than physical," said Green looking back on the 2-year-old season.

It's easy to be reflective now for the connections of Donzel Hanover as the 3-year-old gelding has emerged as a force in just five starts this season, with four wins and a second-place finish on May 12 at Harrah's Philadelphia.

Corey Callahan has sat behind Donzel Hanover in his last three outings and likes what he's seen so far. "The first start I drove him he had post eight and I was able to take him back off the pace," said Callahan. "He got a third-over trip and just trotted by them in the stretch."

On May 5 Callahan would see a different side of Donzel Hanover.

"He drew inside, and we left the gate well. He was kind of dragging me around the track," said Callahan, who was giving the horse all of the credit for cutting three consecutive 28-second quarters and arriving at the three-quarter pole in 1:24 2/5 without much competition. "But he just kept trotting and finished it off well."

The 1:53 2/5 effort by Donzel Hanover put him in a tie as the co-second fastest son or daughter of Sebastian K, with the Breeders Crown champion Next Level Stuff ranked as the fastest.

Callahan met with the owners after the race. "They were speechless," Callahan said. "They'd never had a horse that won four races in a row and never had a horse trot in 1:53."

Owners Ashley Burslem and Steve Mullen have, according to Green, been with him for the last eight years and they look to buy between five and six yearlings annually.

Following nine straight losses as a 2-year-old, Green finally got Donzel Hanover to learn the ropes and the results have been encouraging.

Most recently in his fifth start as a sophomore, Donzel Hanover found the going a bit tougher. In the field of six at Harrah's Philadelphia on May 12 was none other than Cool Papa Bell, a sophomore from the Jim Campbell stable with Grand Circuit aspirations. Callahan drove Donzel Hanover in the same fashion he had a week earlier, sending the horse to the front but this time doing a better job of cutting more sensible fractions. Donzel Hanover marched around the track through fractions of 28 1/5, 57 1/5 and 1:25 1/5 on a clear lead but then had no answer whatsoever when Cool Papa Bell rolled out of third on the final turn and stormed home to win going away in a 1:53 clocking.

"I thought he raced his best race last week," said Green about the second-place finish. "I think Cool Papa Bell is the kind of horse you'll see in the Breeders Crown."

More notable than the props given the race winner was the final quarter of the race smoked by Cool Papa Bell in 27 2/5. Of the 14 races carded at Harrah's Philadelphia on May 12, that final fraction was the fastest by far of the day. Donzel Hanover's 28 1/5 final quarter and his 1:53 2/5 final time were more than respectable numbers.

While Donzel Hanover has thus far in 2022 shown talent against 3-year-olds and some older foes, the big tests for him will come ahead in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes races. While Cool Papa Bell (a New York eligible) won't be in that grouping, there will be some formidable competition from many of the sport's leading trainers and more influential owners.

"I'm going to give him another start at Harrah's [Philadelphia]," said Green. "Then we'll send him to The Meadows for the first Sire Stakes."

June 4 is the date for what the trainer hopes is the first of many stakes appearances. Though Donzel Hanover is lightly staked, the trainer has hopes that perhaps in the long run his horse will prosper. "He's a sound horse that should continue to race."

For Green there weren't that many horses he's had that he was able to compare with Donzel Hanover, but one did come to mind.

"I had Wind of the North," Green said. "Windy was a very fast horse and more sensible than this one."

Hopefully over time Donzel Hanover will become an easier horse on himself and a more feared one among his rivals. If so he can leave a decent account of what Sebastian K's influence may have been on the sport had he lived longer.