Keeping the Hanover dream alive

THE amazing pacing stallion Rocknroll Hanover was bred by Hanover Shoe Farms of Hanover, Pennsylvania. A 2005 Horse of the Year winner, this champion pacer was born on April 2, 2002.

He was sold to Jeffrey S. Snyder of New York for $190,000 at the Standardbred Horse Sales Company’s Yearling Sale in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on November 3, 2003.

Trained by Brett Pelling and driven by Brian Sears, Rocknroll Hanoverraced in 2004 and 2005, and accumulated a lifetime record of 26-15-5-5.

At the time of his retirement, Rocknroll Hanoverwas the fastest two-year-old standardbred in history, the third leading single-season money winning standardbred of all time and the 11th leading all-time money winning pacer.

In September 2004, two-year-old Rocknroll Hanover brought a modest record of a win and two thirds from four starts  and 31-1 odds to the $1.2million Metro Stakes final at Woodbine, and left with $466,543 and the distinction of being the first two-year-old in standardbred to break the 1:50 mark by stopping the clock in 1:49.4.

A week later Rocknroll Hanover dead-heated in the Champlain Stakes, and completed his season with a record of three wins and four placings from eight start and total earnings of $530,781.

Rocknroll Hanover never finished off the board during his 2005 sophomore campaign, winning 12 of 18 and garnering $2,223,257 in earnings.

His richest victories included the New Jersey Classic, North America Cup ($1.5million Canadian), Meadowlands Pace (in record time), Simcoe Stakes, Bluegrass, Tattersalls Pace, James B. Dancer Memorial and Breeders Crown. Rocknroll Hanover’s Meadowlands Pace victory made him the first Standardbred horse in history to win three million-dollar races (U.S. or Canada).

Rocknroll Hanover stood in Australia during the 11/12 and 12/13 seasons and has combined hemisphere progeny earnings of over $138 million. He has already sired 15 millionaires.

While the great champion sadly passed away in March 2013, the opportunity, thanks to Kerrie Hymers and some frozen semen from New Zealand, another couple of potential champions could possibly be added to the list below:

The Hanover dream is been kept alive by Tourello Standardbreds studmaster, Kerrie Hymers.  Kerrie is a lady that we have so much admiration for.

A harness racing enthusiast that was prepared to move from their Victorian operation to Tasmania to expand and grow their ever improving brand.

“We had outgrown our property in Victoria and decided we would look at something with more acreage and a property that was set up”, Hymers said.

“We found it difficult to sustain the business in Victoria at that time.  All of the hay in the dry years was getting really difficult to find.  We were paying $185 for a round bales, in the 18/19 season.”

Hymers is catering for all breeding services including AI and frozen semen as well as seven stallions on site. They include Tell All, Smiling Shard, Metropolitan, Dawn Of a New Day and Cams Fool and she offers frozen semen for the unraced horses A Bit Of Bling and Arctic Cat.

Hymers will be selling 11 lots with the Neds-APG team in 2022.

“I breed to sell at yearling sales,” Hymers said. “Mostly at Melbourne and that’s with the only industry owned-not for profit–Sales Company APG.

“I have two very special Rocknroll Hanover fillies that will go through APG’s Sydney sale that will be prepared by the team at Medowie Lodge.”

The first Rocknroll Hanover filly is out of the U8 mare Grand Times. She is a close relation to Hazel Hanover the dam of:

Headline Hanover  $524,357

Michael Johathan  $431,785

Holmes Hanover    $430,787

Other U8 stars are:

The second Rocknroll Hanover filly is out of the N12 Artsplace mare Harmony Bromac, other N12 stars are:

“The Neds APG offer is what the sport has been screaming for. To think it’s got an almost unimaginable $3million pot of gold on offer in races and bonuses, like free entry (until 16^th August),” Hymers  said.

“While we are looking to build our close association with David and his team at Neds-APG, the bottom line is that APG’s 2022 offering has the most prizemoney in APG’s history and vendors like us will be eligible for more benefits than at any point in APG’s 33 year history.

“Even for us in down here in Tasmania, we just want to be a part of the excitement and believe all breeders looking to sell in 2022 should come home and enter their lots with our only industry owned, non for profit yearling sales company, Neds–APG.”

Be like Hymers  and click the link below to secure your place in history.

ENTER YOUR YEARLING FOR APG’S 2022 SALES

To be eligible for FREE ENTRY (New South Wales and Victoria) and vendor bonuses, entries must be received by the 16th August.

Please phone Linda Graham – 0428 955 998 or e-mail her at linda@apgold.com.au and she’ll be pleased to assist you with your online yearling sale entries & enquiries.

• DEAN BARING