Here's Hannah 124-pound highweight in Strawberry Morn Handicap
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Going into her first start as a 4-year-old in the $50,000 Vancouver Sun, Here’s Hannah had trained sensationally. The local Horse of the Year in 2018, she appeared bigger and stronger than she did as a 3-year-old when she won four of her five starts, including the $100,000 British Columbia Oaks. If her romp in the Sun is any indication, she is going to be a handful in the $50,000 Strawberry Morn Handicap at Hastings on Saturday. The 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares drew seven horses and headlines an eight-race card that begins at 1:50 p.m. Pacific.
Here’s Hannah is undefeated in four starts going around three turns, and her trainer, John Morrison, isn’t concerned she might come up short having had just one sprint this year.
“She puts a lot into her training,” said Morrison. “She ran the way she trained in the Sun and she has continued to thrive. It’s the same old story. It just depends on how the race sets up.”
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Here’s Hannah has won most of her races by running her opponents off their feet. However, she can stalk, and with the speedy Oxhilirating breaking from the rail, she may sit just off the pace.
She will break from post 2 with usual rider Richard Hamel riding. Her only loss in in nine starts came when Hamel was not available to ride her in the $50,000 Emerald Downs Handicap at Hastings last year.
Here’s Hannah has been assigned 124 pounds, six more than second highweight Good Luck to You.
KEY CONTENDERS
Here’s Hannah, by Numaany
Last 3 Beyers: 84-74-77
◗ With a career-best Beyer in her first start as an older horse and a bullet interim workout on June 8, we may not have seen the best of her yet. Scary.
Good Luck to You, by Bellamy Road
Last 3 Beyers: 79-72-49
◗ The Phil Hall-trained 5-year-old was up against it when Here’s Hannah broke on top and was never pressured in the Sun.
◗ She rallied to win the $50,000 Brighouse Belles in her first start this year, and could have some help up front if Oxhilirating breaks alertly.
Oxhilirating, by Oxbow
Last 3 Beyers: 63-77-75
◗ Trained by Steve Bryant, she wasn’t a serous factor in her first start at Hastings in the Sun. She doesn’t want to sprint, though, and her best races have come when she’s made the lead going a middle distance.
“I love the way she is coming into the race,” said Bryant. “I would love her a whole lot more if Here’s Hannah wasn’t in the field, though.
Mary Cowan dies at age 82
Mary Cowan, the first female jockey in Canada, died May 29 at 82. She was married for over 60 years to longtime Hastings trainer Charlie Cowan. One of their three children is Charlene Miller, a prominent trainer at Hastings. Miller’s son Jordan is a jockey agent at Woodbine, where he represents Luis Contreras, Simon Husbands, and leading apprentice Kazushi Kamura.
Cowan had been suffering from dementia for the last nine years. A memorial race is being planned for Sept. 15.
◗ Trainer Bill McLaren died from heart failure last week. The best horse McLaren trained was Notis the Jewell, who was the local champion older filly or mare in 2017. The 6-year-old daughter of Stephanotis runs in the Strawberry Morn. McLaren, who was 77, was predeceased by his wife Charlene.
