Pelling Girls 1-2 In Fan Hanover Final
Trainer Brett Pelling sent out a pair of talented three-year-old pacing fillies, Treacherous Dragon and Wickedly Innocent, in tonight’s $401,000 Fan Hanover final at Mohawk and the pair picked up 75 per cent of the purse with an exciting one-two finish.
As the race got underway last week’s elimination winner Silver Label battled Queen Of Success for the early lead and prevailed to take the group by the opening marker in :26.4. As they paced to the half it was Sea Silk up to grab the front and she hit that marker in :55.
Silver Label’s stablemate Prohibition Legal popped out from fourth and began her assault towing Treacherous Dragon, the other elimination winner, with her. Prohibition Legal cleared by the three-quarters in 1:22 but down the stretch Treacherous Dragon and Tim Tetrick went on by and held off her late charging stablemate, Wickedly Innocent, to win in 1:50.1.
Ontario-bred fillies Prohibition Legal and Silver Label, both Millar Farms homebreds trained by Nick Gallucci, were third and fourth respectively. Boudoir Hanover closed a ton to take the final cheque.
The winner has some family history with this race as her dam, the top race filly My Little Dragon, finished a close second in the 2006 edition of the race. Treacherous Dragon is the ninth foal of the mare who won $2.3 million in her career.
Bred by White Birch Farm of NJ, and owned by Hot Lead Farm of Allentown, Treacherous Dragon is a daughter of 2013 NA Cup winner Captaintreacherous and Tetrick noted the filly reminds him a lot of her sire.
A $260,000 yearling, Treacherous Dragon upped her career earnings over the $575,000 mark with tonight’s effort. A winner of four of 10 last season, she is undefeated thus far at three with tonight’s win being her fifth in as many tries.
“I did not want to be on the front (given the windy conditions),” noted Tetrick. “I had the trip I wanted. Brett has done a great job with this filly, he’s brought her along slow. He is great at what he does and setting them up for the three-year-old year. He's got this mare in form, and hopefully he gets to keep her that way for the next weeks.”
“They’re both really strong fillies, they’re very efficient,” praised Pelling. “(Treacherous Dragon) is very calm and stoic, nothing fazes her too much”
The Fan Hanover was established in 1983 to honour one of the greatest pacing mares of all time and still the only female to ever win the coveted Little Brown Jug. A member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, Fan was purchased as a yearling and owned through the remainder of her life by fellow Hall of Famer Dr. Glen Brown one of the most respected administrators in harness racing and a long time director of WEG. Dr. Brown presented the Fan Hanover trophy to the race’s winner for many years. He sadly passed away last month at 88.
