The Tasmanian based harness racing sire Cardmaster Hanover has had a long hard grind to try to get established in Australia but judging by the results from Hobart yesterday, he is finally rewarding his loyal supporters.
Imported from North America in 2005, Cardmaster Hanover stood initially in New South Wales but to say he was poorly patronized would be the understatement of the year.
Up until the time he was on sold to Geoff Madden in 2010, Cardmaster Hanover had produced four crops whose numbers together came to just thirty three live foals.
Of those thirty three foals, only nine have faced the starter and four have won but included in those winners was the very smart Dealer 1:53.3 ($105,230)
So on his arrival in Tasmania, the fortunes of Cardmaster Hanover were probably at an all time low.
His first crop in Tasmania were born in 2011 which are three year olds in the current season and they number thirty seven in total of which fourteen have started and seven have been race winners to date.
Not a blazing start but a big improvement on the small numbers he had produced in New South Wales.
The second crop by Cardmaster Hanover in Tasmania numbers forty two in total and it is this crop which has made breeders sit up and have another look at the son of Cam's Card Shark.
Cardmaster Hanover has produced two high class juveniles this season in Hillview Jake and Chica Bella and they were both at the top of their game last night at Hobart.
Chica Bella was too smart even from a bad draw in the $30,000 Evicus Final for fillies while Hillview Jake brushed home in a smart 56.9 to capture the $30,000 Dandy Patch Final for colts and geldings.
Chica Bella 1:58.7 ($51,442) is five from nine this season while Hillview Jake 1:57.8 ($49,806) is five from seven in his debut season.
Throw in Origin Cronk 2:00.9 ($16,606) and a few other promising types knocking on the door and Cardmaster Hanover has had a season to remember.
It will be very interesting to see how breeders react to the performance of his two year olds this season when the next breeding season rolls around.
Harnesslink Media