Scioto: Blood brothers hook up in Breeders Crown

In the 42-year history of the Breeders Crown, there has likely never been a time that the two main contenders in the 2-year-old colt pacing division were as closely matched and as closely bound by blood as the match-up we will see on Friday night (Oct. 16) at Scioto Downs. To say that the undefeated Shalom Hanover and the once-beaten (by a head in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championship) Starstruck Dreamer have matched records on the racetrack would be a fair statement. To look even closer at their pedigrees would suggest they are quite close to being brothers by birth that went separate ways and now have found each other on the racetrack.

Shalom Hanover and Starstruck Dreamer have seen each other in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes, but in their short careers they have only met in a race on one occasion. Looking down their maternal line, you find that Scarlett Hanover, the Jugette-winning daughter of Bettor's Delight that is the dam of Starstruck Dreamer, just happens to be a sister to Shalom Hanover's dam Sammy's Magic Girl. That the two colts are by sons of Somebeachsomewhere shows the similar blood runs through both their paternal and maternal families.

As rare as it is to find two 2-year-old pacers born in the same year with such close family ties, it is even more unusual to find them both in the Breeders Crown and somewhat fascinating that they have had similar bumps in the road that followed their first and only confrontation in the $300,000 Pennsylvania Championship held at Pocono on September 7. In that race Starstruck Dreamer drew post seven and the race winner Shalom Hanover had the pole position.

Leading up to the Pennsylvania final, both Shalom Hanover and Starstruck Dreamer won Sire Stakes races and exchanged stakes and track records. Inevitably, Starstruck Dreamer would come to hold the world standard with his 1:48 4/5 effort at Harrah's Philadelphia on August 14, a record that could be in serious jeopardy either this weekend or in the final should the weather cooperate. Noel Daley, who trains Starstruck Dreamer, had plans to race him following the Sire Stakes.

"We qualified him and I planned on racing both weeks at The Red Mile," Daley said. Those plans were altered when the colt had to deal with sickness issues that followed a September 22 qualifying mile at The Red Mile.

► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter

While Starstruck Dreamer was missing action, so too was Shalom Hanover as his trainer Dr. Ian Moore had set a different path for his unbeaten colt, and that would be a date with destiny as the heavy favorite to capture the prestigious C$1,000,000 Metro Pace at Woodbine Mohawk Park on September 26. The colt had captured his elimination with extreme ease and seemed poised to win his eighth straight when he was scratched just an hour before post time. Shalom Hanover did return on October 9 with a sharp qualifying mile over the Woodbine Mohawk Park surface, suggesting he'll be ready for this Friday's first of what could be two epic battles with his blood brother.

While Starstruck Dreamer was a $105,000 yearling purchase at the 2025 Lexington Selected sale, Daley was not involved in the purchase.

"Trevor Ritchie picked him out and bought him," said Daley, offering credit where it's rightfully deserved. "Trevor gets a list of about 100 yearlings from George Segal (Brittany Farms) to look at before the sale. This colt wasn't on George's list, but Trevor loved him."

Given he's the first foal from a $946K winner, Daley surmised that the $105,000 price tag was a bit of a bargain. Perhaps it was the fact that Starstruck Dreamer, known then as Cptn Valentine Sgt, was just the second horse on opening night of the Lexington sale to go through the ring.

Daley considers Starstruck Dreamer to be the best 2-year-old pacer he's had in the last 20 years, recalling the undefeated freshman pacing filly from 2005 My Little Dragon, a Breeders Crown winner of similar stature.

"What's interesting to me is that when you look at what (Ron) Burke and his partners have done in the breeding business over the last few years with all of the mares they have kept and had champions from, they sold the dam of Starstruck Dreamer," Daley said.

In 2022, following her 4-year-old campaign, Scarlett Hanover brought $260,000 at the Harrisburg mixed auction. In fairness to Burke and company, the mare had not come close to beating Test Of Faith, who she upset in the 2021 Jugette during her 3-year-old season.

Shalom Hanover cost less than half of his blood brother, going for just $50,000 at the Harrisburg Sale. That price is perhaps easier to understand because he was the tenth foal from Sammy's Magic Girl and was the first time the mare had been bred to Papi Rob Hanover. Sammy's Magic Girl had been bred to multiple sons of Somebeachsomewhere without enjoying the success she achieved with Scarlett Hanover.

Looking further down the family tree of these two impressive freshmen, we find that Sammy's Magic Girl, a daughter of Western Hanover, was the first foal and most successful of 10 foals from her dam L Ts Magic.

L Ts Magic was a daughter of Magical Mike, who never quite captured the success as a sire he enjoyed as a racehorse. Though he was the sire of Horse of the Year Gallo Blue Chip, his other successes were few and far between. L Ts Magic was a solid New York Sire Stakes horse and did capture the 2004 Shady Daisy at Freehold.

Beyond L Ts Magic there is nothing flashy in this maternal line going back 50 years, which makes the presence of both Shalom Hanover and Starstruck Dreamer in a single $25,000 Breeders Crown elimination contest this Friday an incredible awakening of a dormant, or for some non-existent, champion-producing pedigree.

Then again, perhaps we should put more weight on the individual and the paternal lines in these two gifted colts. The late, great Somebeachsomewhere exceeded his talent on the track with his potency in the breeding shed. His sons have excelled on the track and beyond, with Captaintreacherous leading the way thus far but now being chased by Downbytheseaside and Papi Rob Hanover as stallions.

As great as both Shalom Hanover and Starstruck Dreamer have looked this year, Friday's contest will be a test for both when it comes to bouncing back from health issues while facing horses they have yet to go up against. The pair will be separated on the starting car by Night Surfer (post three), a son of Downbytheseaside that has won five of his six starts in the Ohio Sire Stakes program, with his lone defeat coming after he drew post nine in the $300,000 final on September 12 and cut a wicked 1:21 4/5 first three-quarters before succumbing. Since that race Night Surfer has bounced back with a victory at the Delaware County Fair and then qualified in 1:50 flat against older rivals at The Red Mile on October 8.

Without a doubt Scioto Downs' racing secretary Jason Roth saved the best for last with Friday's second $25,000 Crown elimination for 2-year-old pacing colts and geldings. You'll definitely want to stay up for the 11th of 13 races on the card with an expected off time around 10:30 P.M. (EDT). The first race for Scioto on Friday, which offers six total Crown elims for 2-year-olds, starts at 6:00 P.M.