Harness: Long road from stakes winner to claimers

They were both on the same Monday night program at Yonkers Raceway (April 10), but the 8-year-old sons of Somebeachsomewhere had traveled extremely different paths to get there. This Is The Plan, the 2021 MGM Borgata Pacing Series champion, was competing in this year's edition of the series while Pedro Hanover, a rival he faced six years ago in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes when both were freshmen, was in for a $30,000 tag.

That Pedro Hanover was again a winner on Monday is a testament to the will of the Standardbred. Now in the care of trainer Scott Di Domenico, the well-traveled horse overcame post eight in notching his fifth win in just nine starts in his seventh year on the racetrack. Unlike his one-time rival, Pedro Hanover has dealt with adversity that has kept him from making very many starts past his 4-year-old season, but given his current form it's clear the horse hasn't lost his will to succeed.

Di Domenico and partners took a brave stance in claiming the one-time stakes star at this point in his career, but surprisingly the trainer didn't look at it exactly that way.

"There's always risk," Di Domenico said on Monday (April 10). "I know he had a suspensory issue at one time."

While that might have been enough to convince others to stay away, what Di Domenico witnessed on the racetrack made him a believer in the current iteration of Pedro Hanover.

"He was in against my horse Sullivan," Di Domenico said of the race on February 17 at Yonkers. "He blew by my horse like he was standing still."

The victory against $25,000 claimers for trainer Nick Devita was enough to convince Di Domenico and partner Bukers Stable to take the gamble.

"I was really surprised when he wasn't jumped in class off that mile," Di Domenico said in looking back.

Pedro Hanover was claimed for $25,000 on February 24 and since has raced five times for his new connections, winning the last three in-a-row with each victory that much more impressive. This past Monday after Di Domenico elevated him to the $30,000 level, George Brennan left with him from post eight and needed much of the opening quarter before securing the front. The 27 1/5 opening quarter would likely take the sting out of many horses at this level, but Pedro Hanover marched on to a wire-to-wire 1:52 4/5 victory, his fastest-ever over a half-mile track in just a 73-race career.

Di Domenico was non-committal on whether he would move Pedro Hanover up in class a day before the draw but ultimately elected for a $40,000 claimer. Given the horse has essentially earned out for the ownership in five weeks, they really have nothing to lose if someone else came along and took him for anything close to $30,000. Di Domenico was complimentary of the condition of Pedro Hanover when he took over the training.

"I have to give Nick [Devita] and his team credit for rehabbing him," DiDomenico said.

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Back in 2017 trainer Andrew Harris wasn't overly thrilled with the attitude Pedro Hanover displayed upon arriving in his stable for his 2-year-old season.

"He was a bit of an a-hole," said Harris, recalling his first encounters with the talented colt. "It took some time, but once he got to racing, he started figuring things out."

An $80,000 yearling purchase, Pedro Hanover was the first Somebeachsomewhere-sired colt out of Paula's Best, a daughter of Pro Bono Best that captured the New York Sire Stakes final for 2-year-old pacing fillies in 2006 at Saratoga Harness. Harris got the horse from trainer Corey Giles, who had broken and trained him up to race shape, with a pair of qualifiers at Mohawk before his arrival in the States.

"I was friends with an owner and he wanted to have a trainer down here to race him in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes," said Harris.

Pedro Hanover's racing career started pretty much the same way it was for him on Monday night. The colt landed post eight in his first overnight affair at Harrah's Philadelphia and then drew outside again in his stakes debut at The Meadows. That said, the post wasn't an issue in his debut as he broke stride going to the quarter and sacrificed ground to the field. Driver Tim Tetrick was able to steady him, but the team was 10 lengths off at the halfway mark. Pedro Hanover closed briskly and finished third, beaten just three lengths.

On July 22, 2017, Pedro Hanover was sent off as a 10-1 shot from post eight and Tetrick was able to keep him relaxed through the first quarter. On this occasion Pedro Hanover was again last in the field at the halfway mark on a sloppy track but within reach of the field. He wound up following the cover of This Is The Plan and then charging by that one most impressively.

Pedro Hanover would go on to capture another leg of the Sire Stakes, again defeating This Is The Plan, and would later go on to win the $252K final at Pocono with driver Andrew McCarthy putting him on the front-end for the very first time in his career and scoring in a 1:51 mile.

The 2-year-old season would be complete with Pedro Hanover capturing a Metro elimination race and then coming from off-the-pace to finish third in the final to Lost In Time, a horse that had worked out a close-up trip and posted the mild upset for Scott Zeron in a 1:50 1/5 mile.

"I had really high expectations for his 3-year-old season," Harris said of Pedro Hanover, who appeared to be just getting better at the end of his freshman campaign where he won five of eight starts and pocketed $317K.

"He qualified back well for his 3-year-old season, but he had some soundness issues and then had a liver problem."

Those issues would sideline Pedro Hanover and keep him from competing in the major stakes. His 3-year-old season was done in June of 2018. Trainer Giles had Pedro Hanover during his 4-year-old season and got 25 starts out of him, but he never quite exhibited the form he displayed as a 2-year-old and would start just 28 times from 2020-22 with some success over Canada's "B" tracks.

Soundness is always an issue and Harris has seen what the 2023 version of Pedro Hanover looks like and sees the difference.

"Scottie [Di Domenico] has done a great job with him," said Harris. "He's not running out on the turns."

Indeed, Pedro Hanover paced right through the first turn going three-wide in his most recent victory.

Harris trains locally and just like the other trainers competing at Yonkers could have claimed Pedro Hanover.

"I almost bought him a year ago," said Harris, surprisingly. "I just don't think it's good business to chase after an old horse I had."

Perhaps Harris said it best when it comes to the past of Pedro Hanover as well as his current raging form: "Time heals all wounds."

It's a game of high risk and Di Domenico is hoping he can keep Pedro Hanover good and healthy. His philosophy: "Class never goes bad."