John Berry looks at the three-year-old trotting fillies

Bond (Southwind Frank) followed up on her magnificent 2-year-old harness racing season in 2022 with an even better season this year. A winner of $587,265 last semester with a mark of 1:52.3, she went on to win $847,071 this year on the strength of an 8-2-1 scorecard in 13 starts, vaulting her lifetime earnings to $1,434,335.

She lowered her mark, too, with a 1:51.2 performance in the $600,000 Breeders Crown. Ironically, her fastest final quarter this year was in her very first start—a qualifier in mid-May at The Meadowlands—when she was clocked in :26 flat while completing her warm-up mile in 1:54.

She started her year with three straight wins before Heaven Hanover (and Rose Run Yolanda) caught her in the Delvin Miller and, after being caught again in the Hambletonian Oaks Elimination by four others after cutting the mile, she changed tactics coming from seventh to miss the whole shebang by a neck after taking a short lead late but caught on the wire. She then reeled off three straight successes before a disastrous draw in the Kentucky Futurity left her 11th and hopelessly out of it before a :26.1 finale earned her fifth.

On to the Breeders Crown where she won her elim handily and came back in the $600,000 Final getting by a stubborn Special Way in the final strides. She closed out her year racing against older stock and finished second to the outstanding Jiggy Jog S in the Fan Duel—her closing kick home in :26.3 just not quite good enough but, certainly, a noteworthy performance.

Heaven Hanover (Father Patrick), after a two-year-old season of only six starts, $46.985 in bounty and a 1:56.3 mark, blossomed in her sophomore campaign with a 3-5-1 tab in 15 starts, edging over the half million-dollar mark1n 2023 in her final start. Her biggest success came in the $500,000 Hamblertonian Oaks at The Meadowlands where she was 10th and last as Railee Something sizzled fractions of :26, :53.2 and 1:21.3 before picking her foes off one-by-one using a :27.3 sprint home by a neck over Bond in 1:50.3, her mark.

Her other successes were in the PASS in 1:52.4 and Delvin MIller in 1:51.3. She missed but one check during the season—that in the Kentucky Futurity while just too far back early to do damage. She was fifth in the $600,000 Breeders Crown with a fourth in the Matron, just eking past the $500,000 plateau, finishing with $508,652 for the year, second in her grouping.

Mommamia Volo (Tactical Landing) was the fastest filly in her class of sophomores with a 1:50 performance in the $400,000 Kentucky Sire Stakes Final at The Red Mile. Compiling four wins in 12 starts, she began her season very humbly by finishing eighth in a NW 2 event at The Meadowlands before starting to give hints in the Tompkins at The Meadowlands, finishing a fast closing fourth to Railee Something with her final panel in :26.4.

On to Lexington where she competed in all of the KYSS events at The Ted Mile with a performance in the fourth $80,000 leg particularly noteworthy where she was second (by a neck (to Special Way kicking home in an eye-popping :25.2!) Still dismissed in the final (11 to 1), she out-kicked Special Way to win handily taking her 1:50 mark.

She followed that with two more wins at The Red Mile—the first in the Bluegrass and the next in the $320,000 Kentucky Filly Futurity.  On to Hoosier Park for theBreeders Crown, she made a miscue in the Eliminatio, was scratched sick for the Pegasus and made yet another miscue in the Crossroads ending her season. She banked $474,182 racking third in her class.

Special Way (Walner) followed up her superb two-year-old season in 2022 (9-7-1-0) $697,475 with another solid one in her sophomore year sporting a 5-2-0 scorecard in eight starts, while winning $463,100—sending her over the million-dollar plateau—and lowering her mark to 1:51.2.

She began her season, as all the rage kicked in, by winning theee straight in NJSS action, including the $240,000 Final, took a bit of time off, shipped down to Lexington and cut the mustard in Mommamia Volo’s record 1:50 mile, finishing second. Scratched “sick” in The Bluegrass, she, again, cut the fractions as Mommama Volo won that event, as well, with Special Way finishing fourth.

She rebounded in the Breeders Crown Elimination, scoring handily from off-the-pace and, in the $600,000 Breeders Crown, took charge half-way through before Bond and she waged war down the lane with Bond getting up near the wire by a half-length. Special ay ended up the year with lifetime earnings of $1,160,575.

Rose Run Yolanda (Triumphant Caviar), a winner of six-of-seven last year and almost $300,000, did most of her damage in Ohio last season and it was the same story this year, as well. She produced a card reading 7-5-2 in 18 starts with earnings of $449,280.

She did spend the last seven weeks of her season traveling up north to Woodbine-Mohawk for the Elegant Image—fifth in the $281,940 final after cutting much of the mile. The Red Mile was next where she was unlucky with the 10 post and finished seventh, and, finally, Hoosier Park, where she was third in the Breeders Crown Elimination and fourth in the $600,000 Final. She closed out her year in Indiana by cutting the fractions in the $115,000 Crossroads before finishing third.

Railee Something (International Moni) was a consistent 6-5-2 in her 16 starts and earned $428,085 for the season and never missed a check all year with her biggest success ninth $252,000 PASS Championship Final in Philly. She also won the Tompkins while taking her mark of 1:52. She was hid in the Hambletonian Oaks back of Bond and Special Way. And was second to Bond on three other occasions, as well.

Call Me Goo (Googoo Gaagaa) put together a nine-race winning streak to being her season while sweeping through SS action at Rosecroft and Ocean Downs before traveling north of the border to win the Casual Breeze before the streak was halted in the Elegate Image (3rd). After winning the Colonial at Plainrifge, she traveled to Hoosier Park and won the Circuit City before finishing a fast closing second in the Pegasus, missing by a half-length to Tactical Mounds. She closed out her season with wins in the $115,000 Crossroads at HoP and the $141,450 Matron at Dover Downs, closing out her year at $348,452.

Righteous Resolve (Resolve) raced much of her season in Canada, only traveling south of the border in the Hambletonian Oaks where she was third in the Elimination and third in the Oaks Final, less than a length away to Heaven Hanover. Her scorecard read 3-4-3 in 11 starts with earnings of $310,935—her biggest paydays in the Elegant Image at Woodbine-Mohawk (2nd), the $117,660 Ontario Sire Stakes and the Hambletonian Oaks (3rd).

Rose Run Yankee (Triumphant Caviar) earned much of her $306,005 in Ohio compiling a 5-4-1 tab in 13 starts. She did travel to Indiana’s Hoosier Park and got checks in the Pegasus (4th) and Crossroads (5th) with her biggest win being in Delaware, Ohio in the Ohio Breeders Championship during Jug Week.

Walner Payton (Walner) had another good year winning $291,352 while taking a mark of 1:51.4 over Lexington’s Red Mile while winning the Bluegrass. Her biggest payday this semester was $80,000 with a second-place effort against Mommamia Volo.

Mambacita (Tactical Landing) just missed the $300,000 mark with her best performance a 1;50.4 score at The Red Mile in Sire Stakes action.

Tactical Mounds (Tactical Landing) also just missed the $300K mark—$298,448) and won seven times during the year with her 1:52 mark achieved at the HoP in the $60,000 Pegasus, her scorecard reading 7-3-4 in 19 starts.

Sadie Hanover (Chapter Seven) had an abbreviated—yet notable—year with six wins in seven starts and $216,054 in bounty to go along with a Vernon Downs mark of 1:51.3.

In terms of wins, Hydraulic Hazel led the parade with 14 wins in 16 starts with her success achieved mostly on the Ohio Fair Circuit. She did, however, have a trio of wins at Scioto Downs in NW 1 and NW 2 company while earning $62,539.

That’s a look at your class of three-year-old trotting fillies.

“Maybe The Horse Be With You!”

by John Berry, for Harnesslink