In many ways, the recently injured Papi Rob Hanover can be likened to Bret Hanover and Secretariat in terms of his genetic proximity to the current positioning of the breed. Of course, his ultimate stature as a racehorse is pure conjecture at this point and he cannot be compared with those two superstars in terms of racing accomplishment. It might be possible to suggest he’s reminiscent of those two on a physical basis as an individual, but no more.   Whereas he could be compared to the thoroughbred Raise A Native in terms of potential accomplishment based on a handful of starts, one of which (the last one) may have been as powerful a performance as the harness world has ever seen-especially since it didn't look like he was reaching his "bottom". It is recalled that Bret Hanover was by Adios from an excellent Tar Heel mare Brenna Hanover. At the time Adios was by far the ultimate sire in the pacing breed while Tar Heel was in the process of proving the ultimate broodmare sire. Thus Bret Hanover virtually epitomized the maximum in where the breed was at the time. He was as close to genetic perfection as one could imagine. In addition, Adios himself was not overly large, nor were many of his offspring. Bret Hanover, though nicknamed "The Big Bum," was an imposing physical specimen given the size received from his dam's side. Secretariat was by the ultimate speed horse and sire Bold Ruler, from an excellent Princequillo mare named Somethingroyal who had previously produced a top stakes colt in Sir Gaylord to Turn To. Bold Ruler was in the process of proving the ultimate speed sire of the generation while distance-loving Princequillo would provide the ability to handle a distance of ground through his excellent producing daughter. Thus Secretariat virtually epitomized the maximum of where the thoroughbred breed was at that time, being as close to genetic perfection as one could imagine. Of course the individuals come into play as well and both "The Big Bum" Bret Hanover and “Big Red” Secretariat were as impressive individual specimens as could be found at that point in time. This brings us to Papi Rob Hanover. In his brief career he displayed signs of potential greatness as his Adios elimination performance was indeed one for the ages. Not only did it shatter the existing records for The Meadows racetrack, but that he was pretty much on his own was suggestive of more being in the tank.  The previous start he was outside and coverless virtually the entire mile in The Meadowlands Pace and there’s some talk that his coffin bone problem may commenced in deep stretch in that race.  That too is speculation and conjecture as he certainly looked sound until pulling up after his Adios elimination. 'Papi Rob's' sire, the late Somebeachsomewhere, a super-horse in his own right, has been considered the best pacing sire of this new millennium and perhaps as great as any in the all-time roster.  However, his ultimate stature won't be known for generations. His dam Panera Hanover is a well-bred daughter of the also late Rocknroll Hanover, himself the leading sire until Somebeachsomewhere took over. Despite passing at the early age of 11, Rocknroll Hanover is in the process of proving a remarkable second-generation sire. Rocknroll's sons, like Pet Rock and Rockin Image, etc. are proving excellent sires in their own right, while his daughters tend to enhance the performances of whatever sires they wind up servicing. Consequently, Papi Rob Hanover may well be the epitome of where the current pacing breed is in this day and age, as Bret Hanover and Secretariat were in their days. Certainly breeding of Somebeachsomewhere on Panera Hanover, a well-bred Rocknroll Hanover mare, is hard to beat, as was Adios on Brenna Hanover and Bold Ruler on Somethingroyal in their day! While some may question his handful of brief and shining moments, history has proven that it will not negatively impact his ability to sire. Thoroughbred purists will cite Raise A Native, a son of Native Dancer who broke down following a handful of record-shattering starts as a 2-year-old but still emerged as a milestone stallion, siring Mr. Prospector, who along with Northern Dancer revolutionized the thoroughbred breed. Therefore the fractured coffin bone that tragically ended what could have been a legendary career for Papi Rob Hanover will not prevent him from becoming a milestone stallion if that is indeed his destiny in the overall scheme of things. In that Papi Rob Hanover is returning to his birthplace at Hanover Shoe Farms to stand stud, he'll be standing alongside another great Somebeachsomewhere stallion in Captaintreacherous, himself a brilliantly bred son of 'Beach' from Worldly Treasure, the full sister to Worldly Beauty from foundation mare World Order. Going in it was hard to consider Captaintreacherous the maximum of where the breed was during his time given the uncertainty surrounding his sire Someneachsomewhere at the time. Thereafter, someone could make a pretty good case for him as well.   Down the road it will be interesting to see the "Beach Boys" slug it out in the stud ranks seeing as how the age differential prevented it from happening on the racetrack.  Stay tuned.