THE Irish harness racing community are meant to be on holiday at the moment, but the machine rumbles on. Around eight horsemen left Dublin on Sunday, November 1st to attend the fabled Standardbred Horse Sale (‘Harrisburg’ in conversation) in Pennsylvania.
The sales company has always shared common directors with Hanover Shoe Farms, ‘the greatest name in harness racing’ being the indisputable claim of their advertising. The stud is a few miles away in the Pennsylvania Dutch country.
Hanover Shoe Farms was started alongside a footwear company which no longer exists. The huge farm consigned 150 lots last week of the 1,400 total over five days.
Right since the formative days of the Irish and British sport, breeders have realised the value of founder Lawrence Baker Sheppard’s bloodlines.
Thor Hanover, Emerald Hanover and Leopard Hanover all left their hoofprints on the stud books in these islands. Billy Hanover stood with Norman Brown in Belfast and left us Rosehall William (renamed Toss Of A Coin) and the dam of Indicator.
To the present day and the north county Dublin outfit Meadowbranch Stud ‘topped the Irish chart’ as they went to $50,000 for Peony Hanover, a Stay Hungry filly. Peony Hanover will be owned in partnership with Portadown-based sports ground contractor Clive Richardson.
Willie Flanagan parted with $30,000 for Zelle Hanover (f) Papi Rob Hanover – Zellweger Blue Chip, a coincidence in the name as the Flanagan brothers run the successful haulage company Zellwood Distribution.
Patrick Kane jnr bought Go For It Hanover at $17,000 for London-based owner John Ball, the colt will be campaigned in Ireland. He is a Papi Rob Hanover from a Camluck mare.
Wayne McNevin from Rathcoole purchased Sunkist Hanover, a $35,000 yearling. She is by Captain Treacherous, p, 1.47.1 out of a 1.55 Sweet Lou mare.
Sean Duggan bought a $20,000 filly from outside the Hanover consignment.
Watched keenly
Gotmynameback is heading from The Keystone State to ‘Tyrone among the bushes’, as the county is known. Gotmynameback will be watched keenly as she is by Tattoo Artist, a stallion selected by the IHRA for the ‘Invest In Ourselves’ project whereby service fees get ploughed back into prize money.
Crossmaglen owner Patrick Carberry bought a broodmare by Well Said. The dam of this mare won $387,000.
Our close neighbour Ryan O’Neil bought a couple of broodmares to add to his burgeoning Ayr Standardbreds operation. John Howard from Morecambe also had his buying head on.
THE reigning American Horse Of The Year, Beau Jangles, came up for auction, to dissolve a partnership. With lifetime earnings of $2.3 million and a mark of 1m 47.2sec he was widely predicted to break the previous record of $1.85 million attained by the trotter Amazing Catch in 2024. Not only did Beau Jangles break the record, he doubled it.
The buyer was New Zealand-based agent John Curtin. The three-year-old will stand in Canada or America in spring of 2027 and will then shuttle to the southern hemisphere.
Curtin told the USTA press team: “I’ve seen three great horses that were great-gaited and had high, high speed. One was Niatross, one was Somebeachsomewhere and Beau Jangles is the next one.”
Majority share
Where there is a good horse, an Irishman is never far away. Beau Jangles is by Cattlewash, raced by owner Bill Donovan who still has the majority share in the syndicate.
American-born from a West Cork pedigree, Bill is well known in Ireland as a major sponsor and owner in the Baltimore yard of Tadhg and Donal Murphy. The sale brings great kudos to Cattlewash. The stallion has a few foals on the ground in Ireland, thanks to Donovan’s help.
John Richardson did not break into his Confirmation money, but he did see Beau Jangles in the flesh. ‘’He’s a lovely specimen of a horse, you could look at him all day long” was John’s assessment.
THE 2026 Irish champion driver Patrick Kane jnr got to drive at The Meadowlands while in the US for the sales. The Meath-based farrier was a fast-finishing fourth on the British-bred One For The Road, trained by Patrick’s friends and business associates, the Trittons.
The five-year-old gelding won a few nights later with Lauren Tritton in the bike for owners Ball brothers of the UK and American Josh Graber, in a sharp 1m 51secs.
IRISH Harness Racing Association chairman Mark Flanagan could not attend Harrisburg Sales as he was representing this country at the biennial World Trotting Conference. Mark’s daughter Erin signed for the filly they bought.
As the name implies, the international gathering has a huge bearing on rule-making and marketing. The 2026 WTC was held in New Zealand.
Mark summed up Ireland’s perspective as follows: “The 2026 World Trotting Conference highlighted several important developments for the future of international harness racing.
Key discussions focused on horse welfare, integrity, breeding sustainability, marketing, education, technology and international betting cooperation.
Greater consistency
A particular focus was placed on international whipping rules, with discussions around moving towards greater consistency between racing jurisdictions and adopting standards closer to the European model.
This is an important area for Ireland to monitor as international welfare expectations continue to develop.
For Ireland, the conference presents an opportunity to learn from established racing nations and apply best practices to our developing industry.
Of particular commercial importance is international betting cooperation.
With Ireland progressing towards securing a Tote licence, proposed World Trotting Pools and international betting initiatives could provide opportunities to increase turnover, generate revenue and strengthen the financial future of Irish harness racing.
Other priorities include improving horse welfare and aftercare, strengthening breeding records, developing professional education and improving the promotion of Irish racing.
My recommendation is that the IHRA develops a three-year strategic plan for 2027–’29, focusing on industry growth, commercial development and international cooperation.
The objective should be to build a sustainable, professional and commercially stronger Irish harness racing industry.”