Papa Papa Papa, Hansen's Victory may take different approaches

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Papa Papa Papa and Hansen’s Victory dueled each other into defeat when they met in a $35,000 optional-claiming race on Sept. 5, with Richard Hamel and Aaron Gryder aboard as two of the top riders at Hastings. Will wiser heads prevail when they meet again in a $25,000 waiver claiming race that will serve as the feature on the closing-day card Sunday?

Probably. Papa Papa Papa, trained by Steve Bryant, has just one way of going and he will have to use his considerable speed breaking from the rail. Hansen’s Victory’s best race sprinting may have been his win in a conditional allowance race when he sat just off the speed in his second start at the meet for trainer Glen Todd on May 13. Gryder didn’t have many options when he broke from the rail on Hansen’s Victory last time.

The problem Gryder faces with Hansen’s Victory is that if he does try to stalk, Papa Papa Papa could be gone as there doesn’t appear to be another horse that can put pressure on him. If they do hook up again it could set up nicely for Kermode, who should be rolling late.

The 6 1/2-furlong dash goes as race 3 on a nine-race card that begins at 1:50 p.m. Pacific.

Horse of year dinner set

The local horse of the year will be named at the annual awards dinner Nov. 29 at the Newton Golf and Country Club.

The leading candidates are Here’s Hannah, Calgary Caper, and Summerland.

Here’s Hannah, who dominated the 3-year-old filly stakes division, is the favorite, but Calgary Caper may be more deserving.

Here’s Hannah beat up on a weak division, and after she won the British Columbia Oaks trainer John Morrison elected to turn her out for the year instead of trying older fillies and mares in the Grade 3 Ballerina. A win there would have sealed the deal.

On the other hand Calgary Caper, trained by Phil Hall, danced every dance and won three of the last four open stakes, which included the Grade 3 Premier’s.

The 2-year-old filly Summerland, also trained by Hall, is a longshot, but she was the most exciting horse to run at Hastings this year. She won four races at Hastings by a combined 27 1/4 lengths, with her only blemish coming when she ran in the Grade 2 Sorrento at Del Mar.

There is no debate regarding the Dittloff Family and Leif Nordahl, who will be inducted into the B.C. Horse Racing Hall of Fame at the dinner.

Ed and Gladys Dittloff and their daughter Karen go in as breeders. Nordahl, a former president of the local Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society, goes in as a builder.