Background

 

Kountry Lane Standardbred principal, Ola Yoder, knows a thing or two about hot commodities as one of the largest manufacturers of kitchen cabinetry and home furnishings in North America.

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The decision to stand Temporal Hanover, the first son of Walner, and the second richest three-year-old trotting male of 2022 at Premiere Acres in Indiana was a bold one. 

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At the time, Yoder was quoted as saying: “We started the Show Day at 11:00 am. By 12:30 pm the 50 shares that were available for sale were sold and all our breeding’s were sold. Some of the shares and breedings were already spoken for earlier. I just could not believe it. People were lined up at 11:00 am to buy them,” he said.

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The likes of pacing sire Capt Midnight (Captaintreacherous) had already received a warm welcome at Premiere Acres which provided the blueprint for Yoder and Kountry Lane Standardbreds of what was possible in the state, provided he had the individual to match demand.

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Given the phenomenal and instantaneous impact Walner has had with his first two race crops, it’s easy to understand there is significant interest in one of his first sons to retire to stud.

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After all, with just two crops of racing age, Walner finished third on the All Age money list in 2022, doubling up as the leading trotting sire of two-year-olds for his second year running, with his first crop extending his dominance as the top dog of the three-year-old money list also.

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In Temporal Hanover, Indiana hasn’t just gained access to any old son of the champion stallion.

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The Marcus Melander-trained colt was quite literally one of the best-performed trotters of a crop that included the likes of King Of The North, Rebuff, Slay, and Cool Papa Bell, showing precocity as a juvenile before going to another level as a sophomore.

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Performance

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As a two-year-old, Temporal Hanover started 12 times with five wins, the fastest a 1:53.2 victory.

He won a $75,000 Kentucky Sire Stakes leg, the $48,599 Champlain Stakes, two $25,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes legs at The Meadowlands, and his $23,700 elimination division of the William Wellwood. He was second in the $200,000 NJSS Final and finished the year with $207,666 in purse money.

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Temporal Hanover came back the following year a different beast. The $764,000 in stake money for his three-year-old season was good enough for fourth on the earnings list and placed second among male trotters behind the gelded Cool Papa Bell, making ‘Temporal’ the richest colt of his year.

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He beat the likes of Pretender, Periculum, and Cool Papa Bell in one of his most impressive and richest stakes victories when partnered with Brian Sears to take out the $300,000 Earl Beal Jr Memorial at Pocono going virtually wire to wire for the victory in 1:53.0.

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“He was used a little hard, but I figured I was going to try to steal as much as I could going to the half,” winning driver Brian Sears said at the time.

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“He kicked home. This horse really deserves it. He’s been racing great all year. He’s won a couple of big ones, and he deserves another,” he said.

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A month earlier, the big striding son of Walner had easily accounted for his opposition in the $310,000 Zweig Memorial at Vernon Downs where he was unleashed in the post stretch after extracting himself from a pocket on the home turn to win in a lifetime best 1:52.2.

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Alongside the two major stakes victories, Temporal Hanover was second in the $430,000 Kentucky Futurity, the $275,000 NJ Classic, the $240,000 NJSS Final, the $125,000 Stanley Dancer, the $118,500 Bluegrass Stakes, the $100,000 Hambletonian elimination and was third in the $1 million Hambletonian Final.

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Temporal Hanover retired to stud with a lifetime record of 25 starts for 9 wins, 8 seconds, and 2 thirds and narrowly missed becoming the first millionaire son of Walner with an impressive $972,166 in stakes.

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In the flesh, it’s easy to see why the Hanover Shoe Farm’s product impressed the 300+ in attendance at the Kountry Lane Standardbred’s open day. While his race record speaks for itself, seeing is believing and the beautifully correct black stallion has been an impressive individual since the day he was born at Hanover Shoe Farms.

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His yearling video highlights the fluidity in the gait of the star trotter who barely wore an ounce of gear throughout his career. When coupled with his maternal family, it is incredible to think that Temporal Hanover was acquired for just $55,000.

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Pedigree

 

Temporal Hanover’s is out of the unraced Cantab Hall mare, Think Twice, who is a half-sister to the 2006 USA Harness Horse of the Year, Glidemaster (1:51.1 | $1,968,023) as well as stakes-winning Muscle Hill colt, Canepa Hanover (1:51.1 | $320,239).

 

The dam of Think Twice, Cressida Hanover (Mr. Lavec) is a half-sister to Cynara Hanover (Super Bowl), a grand dam of dual hemisphere champion and Elitloppet winning stallion, Nuncio (Andover Hall).

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In a state where the dominant trotting stallion of the past decade has been the Andover Hall son in Swan For All, there would have been many who would have doubted a trotting stallion with a service fee of $8,500 and syndicate shares of $30,000 would be such a success story.

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In hindsight, when taking into account all of the above with both the stallion and his now owner, there should have been little doubt that Temporal Hanover would be the best thing since sliced bread in a state that until now, has been devoid of generational trotting genetics.

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Reports from Dennis Bontrager of Premier Acres suggest that Temporal Hanover has settled into his new routine of stud duties much the same as he did as a racehorse. “He’s one of the best in class,” he said.