New York, NY — Resolve on Tuesday afternoon drew post No. 2 in a field of 10 for Saturday's $1 million Yonkers International Trot and was made the 3-1 morning line favorite in the 1-1/4 mile harness racing invitational event at Yonkers Raceway.
Hannelore Hanover, the lone mare in the race, drew post one and was made the 4-1 second choice.
The International Trot was first contested in 1959 and held through 1995. The event was resurrected last year by Yonkers Raceway President and CEO Tim Rooney. It will be race six on a 13-race card Saturday at Yonkers. First race post time is 1:10 p.m. EDT, with the International Trot expected to go at 3:20 p.m.
Resolve and Hannelore Hanover are among three U.S. representatives in the International Trot, along with Obrigado, who drew post six and was made 6-1 on the morning line.
"I'm satisfied with the draw," said Swedish-born Ake Svanstedt, who is now based in the U.S. and trains and drives Resolve for owner Hans Enggren of Pennsylvania. "I know a lot of the horses and have seen them race. I've raced against a couple of them too. The drivers are good drivers. They drive differently. It's going to be a European (style) race, not American."
Resolve, a 5-year-old stallion, has won four of 10 races this year and earned $695,513. He heads to the International Trot off a win in the Maple Leaf Trot on Sept. 17 at Mohawk Racetrack. Earlier this season, he finished second to Nuncio in the Elitlopp at Sweden's Solvalla Raceway.
"He is doing good," Svanstedt said. "He is doing good the whole year. It's been almost four weeks since he raced the last time, but he trained good. He looks good. He's excited to race when he has a long time between the races. He wants to race. He's sharp."
Returning from last year's International Trot are Norway's BBS Sugarlight, Italy's Oasis Bi, and Sweden's On Track Piraten. Oasis Bi, who finished fourth in last year's edition of the race, drew post No. 5 and was established at 5-1. BBS Sugarlight was fifth and On Track Piraten finished seventh.
Completing the field are Sweden's Explosive De Vie, Canada's Flanagan Memory, Finland's Jonesy, and Denmark's Tano Bork.
Norway's Papagayo E won the 2015 race, but is unable to return this year because of injury.
Hannelore Hanover will try to join a list of eight mares to win the International Trot. She has 15 wins and two seconds in 17 starts this season, and has won 24 of her 38 career starts for trainer Ron Burke, who co-owns the 4-year-old with the partnership of Mark Weaver and Mike Bruscemi, Frank Baldachino and J&T Silva Stables.
The mare heads to the International Trot off a win over the boys in the Centaur Trotting Classic on Sept. 24 at Hoosier Park. She finished second to Resolve in the Maple Leaf Trot.
"I was open-minded about (posts) one through five, and maybe nine or 10, but drawing the rail in this race is definitely a big edge for her," Hannelore Hanover's driver Yannick Gingras said, adding with a laugh, "I told Ake that he better buckle up his chinstrap.
"She's really sharp. She's been racing really good. She's had a three-week break now, which I think is a great thing for her. She'd been racing really hard, shipping all over North America. I think the three weeks will help her and I'm sure Ronnie will have her trained up. I know she's ready to rock."
This will be Hannelore Hanover's first race on a half-mile track.
"I don't think it's an issue," Gingras said. "She's a really square-gaited mare. I don't think it's any problem at all in my mind."
Following is the Yonkers International Trot field in post order.
PP – Horse – Driver – Trainer – Line
1 – Hannelore Hanover – Yannick Gingras – Ron Burke – 4/1
2 – Resolve – Ake Svanstedt – Ake Svanstedt – 3/1
3 – Jonesy – Tuomas Korvenoja – Tuomas Korvenoja – 15/1
4 – Flanagan Memory – Brian Sears – Rene Dion – 6/1
5 – Oasis Bi – Erik Adielsson – Stefan Pettersson – 5/1
6 – Obrigado – Mark MacDonald – Paul Kelley – 6/1
7 – BBS Sugarlight – Vidar Hop – Fredrik Solberg – 6/1
8 – On Track Piraten – Orjan Kihlstrom – Hans Stromberg – 10/1
9 – Tano Bork – John Campbell -Christian Lindhardt – 20/1
10 – Explosive De Vie – Kevin Oscarsson – Jim Oscarsson – 12/1
Tano Bork and Explosive De Vie start in the second tier.
Ken Weingartner
Media Relations Manager
Harness Racing Communications