Undefeated filly goes again in Currier & Ives Stakes

WASHINGTON, PA, June 23, 2023 — In harness racing, it’s common for freshmen to improve for their 3-year-old seasons. That having been said, the development of Lillehammer Hall (Andover Hall-Contender Hanover) remains remarkable. Off the ticket in all six starts last year, she’s begun her sophomore campaign by ripping off five straight wins — including a pair of PA Stallion Series splits.

She’ll try to stretch that streak to six in Saturday’s $58,390 Currier & Ives for 3-year-old filly trotters at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows. The Currier & Ives goes as race 9, with first post at 12:45 PM.

Owner Kimberly Farmer shifted the filly to The Meadows stable of Todd Rooney only a few months ago, so Rooney really can’t address her freshman season. (Lillehammer, by the way, is the Norwegian village that hosted the 1994 Olympic Winter Games.) But he indicates he didn’t press any magic buttons in the areas of rigging or training regimen to trigger her improvement.

“It’s just maturity more than anything,” Rooney says. “Sometimes, if these young ones have some talent and you give them a chance to grow up physically and mentally, that’s all they really need.”

Nevertheless, he’s seen some assets that bode well for the future.

“She has decent speed off the gate, so she never gets away too far back. And she doesn’t give up. She’ll dig right through the wire.

“She’s had a lot of success because we’ve managed her well. We could have been over-anxious and put her in sire stakes where she might have been overmatched. She’s never had to drop three or four seconds in a race, so she’s been able to dominate her competition.”

She leaves from the rail with Ronnie Wrenn, Jr. at the helm.

If Lillehammer Hall is to dominate once more, she’ll likely have to get by Swanky Hanover (Muscle Hill) from post 5 for driver Dave Palone), who also is on the upswing, with three victories in four outings this year after laying a goose egg at 2. Here’s the difference. While Lillehammer Hall brought $30,000 — responsible enough — as a yearling, Swanky Hanover is a daughter out of the Cantab Hall mare Secret Magic.

That makes her a full sister to Manchego, a three-time Dan Patch Award winner and one of the greatest contemporary distaff trotters. At Harrisburg, Swanky Hanover was hammered down to Jeff and Michael Snyder for a tidy $700,000.

She’s marched through her conditions this year for trainer Marcus Melander but has yet to win a stake race. Rooney, for one, isn’t unhappy to see her in the field.

“Beating a $700,000 filly definitely would be a feather in our cap,” he says. “It certainly wouldn’t hurt Lillehammer Hall’s value.”

For complete Saturday race entries, click here.

by Evan Pattak, for the Meadows Standardbred Owners Association