| Hanover | |
|---|---|
 Hanover from the 1906Types and Breeds of Farm Animals | |
| Sire | Hindoo |
| Grandsire | Virgil |
| Dam | Bourbon Belle |
| Damsire | Bonnie Scotland |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1884 |
| Country | United States |
| Colour | Chestnut |
| Breeder | Runnymede Farm |
| Owner | Dwyer Brothers Stable |
| Trainer | Frank McCabe |
| Record | 50: 32-14-2 |
| Earnings | $118,887 |
| Major wins | |
| Sapling Stakes (1886) Brookdale Handicap (1887) Champion Stakes (1887) Hopeful Stakes (1886) Withers Mile (1887) Brooklyn Derby (1887) Stockton Stakes (1887) United States Hotel Stakes (1887) Second Special Stakes (1887) Swift Stakes (1887) Spindrift Stakes (1887) Lorillard Stakes (1887) American Classics wins: | |
| Awards | |
| American Horse of the Year (1887) Leading sire in North America (1895, 1896, 1897, 1898) | |
| Honours | |
| United States Racing Hall of Fame (1955) | |
| Last updated on February 4, 2007 | |
Hanover (1884–1899) was a champion AmericanThoroughbredracehorse, who won his first 17 races. He was the last American stallion to be theleading sire in North America for four consecutive years untilBold Ruler achieved the feat in 1965.
Hanover was a chestnutcolt bred at Colonel E. Clay'sRunnymede Farm. Hanover was byHindoo from Bourbon Belle by Bonnie Scotland. At the farm's yearling sale in May 1885, Hanover was sold to theDwyer Brothers Stable for $1,250, where he joinedTremont, a very precocious two-year-old also born in 1884.
Trained byFrank McCabe, at age two, Hanover won all three races he contested: theHopeful Stakes, the July Stakes, and theSapling Stakes. With Tremont retired, the Dwyers turned to Hanover as the mainstay for the Dwyer Stable. Hanover started in 27 races at the age of three, racing at distances ranging from four furlongs (800 m) to two miles (3,200 m.), he won 20 times (including theBelmont Stakes by 15 lengths) and finished out of the money only once.[1] Before finishing his first two seasons of racing, Hanover had won 17 consecutive races.[2]
After several losses at age four, and an obvious lameness to the right forefoot, Hanover was nerved and given the remainder of the year to recover. At age five, he lost three times in his first four starts, but finished the season with 9 wins from his 17 race starts. For most of his racing career, Hanover raced against older and top-class horses while conceding them large weights. Hanover stopped racing as America's greatest earner with a career total of $118,887. From his 50 starts, he won 32 races, was second 14 times, and finished third twice, only unplaced twice.[3]
After his racing career ended, Hanover was sold to Colonel Milton Young and sent to hisMcGrathiana Stud farm near Lexington, Kentucky, where he enjoyed a very successful breeding career, becoming the leading sire in the United States for four consecutive years (1885–1889). His offspring include Hall of Fame inducteeHamburg, as well as David Garrick,Halma, Compute, The Commoner, Handspring, Half Time, and Yankee. In addition, he was the damsire ofTriple Crown winnerSir Barton and also damsire of the great racing fillyTanya, winner of the 1905Belmont Stakes.[1][4]
While pawing, Hanover was unable to feel the pain in his 'unnerved' foot, and broke his coffin bone. This led to septicemia, and his condition worsened before he was humanely euthanized in March 1899.[3]
Following the creation of theNational Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hanover was part of the first group of horses inducted in 1955.
| Sire Hindoo B. 1878 | Virgil Br. 1864 | Vandal* | Glencoe* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tranby mare (12) (1840)* | |||
| Hymenia | Yorkshire | ||
| Little Peggy | |||
| Florence 1869 | Lexington | Boston | |
| Alice Carneal | |||
| Weatherwitch | Weatherbit | ||
| Birdcatcher mare (24) (1853) | |||
| Dam Bourbon Belle 1869 | Bonnie Scotland 1853 | Iago | Don John |
| Scandal | |||
| Queen Mary | Gladiator | ||
| Plenipotentiary mare (10) (1840) | |||
| Ella D. 1857 | Vandal* | Glencoe* | |
| Tranby mare (12) (1840)* | |||
| Falcon | Woodpecker | ||
| Ophelia (Family: 21) |
* Hanover isinbred 3S x 3D to the stallionVandal, meaning that he appears third generation on the sire side of his pedigree and third generation on the dam side of his pedigree.