Back to work for Ken Hanover in Bluegrass

Ken Hanover (Captaintreacherous-KJ’s Justine) is a horse that enjoys his job, and business time arrives again Saturday (Sept. 30) in the first of three divisions of the Bluegrass Stakes for 3-year-old male pacers at Lexington’s Red Mile. The start will come nine days after the colt won his elimination of the Little Brown Jug with a track-record harness racing performance and finished third in the final.

Last week, Ken Hanover paced the fastest mile ever by a 3-year-old on the half-mile oval at the Delaware County Fairgrounds in central Ohio, stopping the timer in 1:48.4 to defeat favorite Seven Colors, the fastest sophomore pacer in history on a half-mile track, in their Little Brown Jug elimination.

Ken Hanover’s third-place effort behind It’s My Show and Seven Colors in the same-day final capped a memorable afternoon for his connections.

“It was a great day, a lot of fun,” said trainer Roland “Polie” Mallar, a member of the colt’s ownership group who was starting a horse in the Little Brown Jug for the first time. “To train him and own a piece, that was a pretty special event, to say the least. It didn’t really surprise me (he won his elimination). It surprised me he went (1):48.4, but I really wasn’t shocked he won.

“In the final, I think we were in the right spot (following pacesetter Moment Is Here). If we could have gotten out before we got to the last turn and got started, Seven Colors and It’s My Show would have had to go three-wide around us. I don’t know if we would have won, but we might have been in the photo. But it was a good effort. We showed up and didn’t get embarrassed.”

Ken Hanover has made a career of showing up. He has hit the board in 23 of 27 career races, winning 11 and earning $503,881. He’s missed a paycheck only twice.

On Saturday, the colt will start from post three in a Bluegrass field of seven, with David Miller in the sulky. Confederate, the sport’s No. 1-ranked horse and winner of eight of nine races this season, is the 4-5 favorite. Confederate’s victories include the Meadowlands Pace, Cane Pace, Max C. Hempt Memorial, and Kentucky Sire Stakes Championship Series final. He is the fastest 3-year-old in history, with a mark of 1:46.1.

“We drew in with a buzzsaw there in Confederate,” Mallar said. “We’ll see what happens. He came out of the Jug good. I had him turned out in Lexington for four or five days and he seemed to bounce back pretty well, so we decided to give him a go.

“He knows his job, that’s one thing about him. He likes his work. He always seems to pick it up when he needs to. That’s one of his best traits, I think; he always seems to give you a little extra coming home. That’s what you need, especially racing against this caliber of colts. You’ve got to be able to get home.”

Ken Hanover opened this year with four consecutive victories, which might have helped set him up for success.

“We raced him a little conservatively, he got some wins, and I think it bravened him up,” said Mallar, who shares ownership of the colt with Patrick Leavitt, William Jordan, and Dennis Osterholt. “I think giving him those early preps – I’m not saying he dominated but he won fairly easy – bumped his confidence level up. I think it’s still there. If he can finish up the year on a high note, it would be great.”

Saturday’s Red Mile card also includes Bluegrass divisions for 3-year-old female pacers and 3-year-old male and female trotters. For additional reporting on Saturday’s races, click here. For free daily Red Mile programs, click here.

For complete race entries, click here: US Trotting entries.

by Ken Weingartner, for the USTA