Hambo winner passes on Yonkers Trot

Donato Hanover’s co-owner David Scharf told harnessracing.com Monday afternoon that it has been decided that the Hambletonian winner will forego a chance at the Triple Crown by not starting in the Yonkers Trot and instead head to the World Trotting Derby over Labor Day weekend at Du Quoin, Ill.

Scharf had earlier said he and trainer Steve Elliott had decided to enter the Yonkers Trot with Donato Hanover, but that after conferring last Saturday afternoon—the day after Donato Hanover went a training mile over the half-mile track at Freehold Raceway—they decided to pass on the second jewel of trotting’s Triple Crown and its possible eliminations and final. Instead, Donato Hanover will now start in the World Trotting Derby which will go postward as just a single-heat contest for the first time ever (and limited to only the 12 highest money-winning horses in 2007 amongst those that enter as of Aug. 27).

“We just changed our mind,” said Scharf of the decision to head west for the $600,000 (est.) World Trotting Derby instead of remaining on the East Coast. “If we knew that there was going to be no eliminations for sure, we would have gone to Yonkers. We are shipping to Lexington (The Red Mile) and hang out in Lexington a couple of weeks, and have one qualifier there before racing in Du Quoin on Sept. 1.

“(The World Trotting Derby) will give him the real opportunity to go fast…it would look like that would be the opportunity to go fast,” Scharf added.

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