Vanderkemp hoping to 'took' Canadian Pacing Derby

If it weren’t for bad luck, he’d have no luck at all, it seems, but local trainer Mike Vanderkemp is hoping 4-year-old Took Hanover can shake off some of his bad karma in Saturday night’s $737,000(C) Canadian Pacing Derby at Mohawk racetrack.

"He’s a bit of a hard luck horse, and a real handful around the barn," says Vanderkemp of the son of The Panderosa, owned by Adam Victor & Son Stable, of New York, and John Fielding of Toronto. "It’s always him who has to find an excuse to get hurt!

"At two, he was probably the best horse in the Metro Pace, but he put his leg through the gate and had to be scratched. He was going really good early on as a 3 year old, but turned out to have a throat problem which required surgery down in Lexington. It was six months before we got him back to the races.

"Last year, he was even in an accident on Highway 401," he recalls. "He was OK, fortunately--the truck and trailer bore the brunt of it."

As 2007 progresses, Took Hanover may finally be outgrowing his accident-prone tendencies, but "the 4-year-old year is tough," says Vanderkemp. "He’s up against some very good horses, but hopefully he can get away with them.

"He might be third or fourth best in this field, but you never know what might happen."

Having been dealt an outside post might be construed as another bit of bad luck for the colt, but having veteran John Campbell in the bike on Saturday night could only be good. And with earnings of nearly $400,000, and a new lifetime mark of 1:49 set in June at the Meadowlands, Took Hanover has earned some respect from bettors, who made him 10-1 in the morning line after he finished a close third to Lis Mara and Mister Big in last week’s elimination.

The Canadian Pacing Derby, for colts and geldings 3 years and older, goes postward at 9:41 p.m. (WEG)

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