Harness: A filly in the Hambletonian has become the new norm

Have you ever heard or read the question: What's the first thing that comes to mind...?

When watching Harrah's Philadelphia on May 21, the first word that popped into my head as Anoka Hanover widened her lead to more than three lengths in the stretch and won effortlessly in a track-record equaling 1:52 3/5 was "Hambletonian."

Certainly one start into her 3-year-old campaign is a bit premature to start pointing her to the $1 million race on the first Saturday in August at the Meadowlands against the boys. Or is it?

During the first 35 years of the Hambletonian, an impressive 10 fillies were crowned champion before everything changed. The next 55 years brought just three winners, but as the breed has progressed in recent years, the fillies have clearly come on par with the colts in terms of raw speed and ability.

Mission Brief, still the fastest 2-year-old trotter in North American history at 1:50 3/5, got the ball rolling for this new generation of young ladies in 2015 when she won an elimination of the Hambletonian and finished second in the final. Then Atlanta came along to win the event in 2018, and she was followed up by Ramona Hill in 2020.

Some can look at two fillies winning the Hambletonian in three years as an anomaly. Thankfully there is even more proof of the increased superiority of the modern filly. In 2020 the fastest 3-year-old trotter in the sport was Ramona Hill at 1:50 1/5, and three of the top five fastest (all under 1:51) were fillies. Half of the under 1:51 squad in 2019 were fillies, led by Beautiful Sin and When Dovescry in 1:50 1/5. Nine horses were sub-1:51 trotters in 2018, and five were fillies, with Impinktoo and Plunge Blue Chip putting up world-record 1:49 4/5 miles.

Armed with the above facts, you can hardly wonder why my first thought was Hambletonian when Anoka Hanover crossed the wire first, and I'm the last person to hype up a horse off one or even a few races. When Get Legs looked like he could be anything earlier this year, I watched as the bandwagon sailed down the road. Is there a chance he can be the next Lucky Jim or be a Wiggle It Jiggleit type that excels during the winter and carries that success on to a great career? Sure! But more likely he'll just be a good horse.

The effort I saw from Anoka Hanover in her 3-year-old debut flickered thoughts of a great horse...one who could overcome bad position and a first-over trip to win as she pleased. Dating back to last year, the Noel Daley trainee has won eight straight races and will start next in the second leg of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes at The Meadows on Saturday (May 29).

Clearly in the more talented of two $71,000-plus events carded as races one and three, Anoka Hanover drew post two with regular driver Todd McCarthy in the bike. The field also includes the once-beaten-in-2021 Bella Bellini (post one) and 2020 Breeders Crown winner Lady Chaos (post six). Recent 1:52 4/5 Sire Stakes winner Love Muffin (post four) highlights the first division.

Whether Anoka Hanover can become the third filly in four years to win the Hambletonian will remain a mystery for another 10 weeks. At this point we don't even know if the thought of taking on the boys has entered the minds of her ownership group of Caviart Farms, Crawford Farms Racing, L A Express Stable and Daley, but one nugget of information we are privy to is history. Atlanta, Ramona Hill, and Anoka Hanover have something in common - Crawford Farms Racing.

To stray from facts for a moment, perhaps Crawford is the "lucky charm" that leads to filly Hambletonian dominance.

Hambletonian Notebook

The top-ranked horse on the Road to the Hambletonian is 2-year-old colt champion and Mohawk Million winner Venerate. He is scheduled to make his first on-track appearance in a qualifier Saturday afternoon (May 29) at the Meadowlands.

The fastest 2-year-old trotter of 2020, Southwind Tyrion (1:51 1/5) has yet to hit the track this year but is reportedly training well and expected to qualify in early June, perhaps as early as the fifth.

The speedy Cuatro De Julio (5-1) and the first-out 1:51 4/5 winner Lindysmusclemania (2-1) are two of eight Hambletonian eligibles in-to-go Friday at the Meadowlands in the $200,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes final (race nine).

In addition to the fillies competing at The Meadows on Saturday, the colts and geldings will battle in three divisions of PA Sire Stakes on Monday afternoon at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. Some of the standout horses include 2020 PaSS champion Captain Corey (race eight), making his seasonal debut, along with PaSS and Breeders Crown runner-up In Range (race 10). While that duo competes in the main-event Sire Stakes on the card, Breeders Crown winner On A Streak (race four) makes his second start of the year in the second-rung Stallion Series.