ECSTATIC ‘ELISTA’ FAVORED IN HAMBLETONIAN OAKS AT BIG M

Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Trainer Annie Stoebe is no doubt thrilled to have the one to beat in Saturday’s (Aug. 3) Hambletonian Oaks for 3-year-old trotting fillies at The Meadowlands.

Apparently, so is her horse, Elista Hanover, who drew post position one at Tuesday afternoon’s Hambletonian press conference at Hogan Equine in Cream Ridge, NJ, and was installed as the 9-5 morning-line favorite in the $525,000 event, which will be seen by a national television audience on FOX Sports 2 (FS2) at 6:06 p.m.

“I wish [my post] was a little more toward the middle,” said Stoebe. “But I think she’ll be OK there. [Driver] David [Miller] will figure it out. The beautiful thing is, all I have to do is have her ready. The rest is on David.

“There is nothing that phases her, as long as you give her a cookie, she doesn’t care. She never ceases to amaze me and is possibly the happiest horse I have ever trained.”

Stoebe has gone through many a treat this year, as the daughter of International Moni-Evermore has strung together 10 consecutive victories during 2024 after opening the season with a fast-closing, third-place finish in an overnight at The Meadowlands.

Her double-digit destruction of her foes has included a three-race sweep of the Bobby Weiss Series at Pocono Downs, before four more scores in Pennsylvania in All-Stars and Sire Stakes action. Her last three wins came at The Big M in the Reynolds and Tompkins-Geers before last week’s powerhouse performance in the second of three Oaks eliminations, in which she set a new lifetime-mark of 1:51.3 after shrugging off a stiff challenge around the far turn from Buy A Round, a standout on the New Jersey Sire Stakes circuit.

“[Buy A Round] is such a fantastic animal, so, of course, I got a little bit nervous,” said Stoebe. “In that race, she was the one to beat. We managed beating her.”

As the 3-5 favorite, Elista Hanover was put on the lead by Miller at the half and reported home a 1½-length winner over Drawn Impression as Buy A Round weakened and finished fourth, which was still good enough to earn a berth in the Oaks final as the highest money-earning fourth-place finisher from the three elims.

“David, when he retook, I was like, oh,” said Stoebe. “Then when [the half] showed up as :57, David knew what was happening. He knows what to do.”

Her trainer may have thought Buy A Round was the one to beat last week, but you’d have trouble convincing the bettors. Elista Hanover has been sent the gate as the favorite in all 11 of her starts this year.

That’s something else that sets Elista Hanover apart from her foes in the Oaks, as she will be making her 12^th start of the year, more than any of the other horses in the field.

But Stoebe doesn’t seem too concerned.

“I’m OK with it,” said Stoebe. “We’ll see how it is at the end of the year, but I’m comfortable with how she is coming into this big race. David says she just keeps getting stronger. We’re just living a dream right now. She’s just amazing.”

When making the trip to the track, Stoebe is always aware of what she needs to bring in addition to all of the equipment her horse needs.

“Cookies get packed in her harness bag when I pack everything else,” said Stoebe. “They are as important as her bridle.”

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THE HAMBLETONIAN OAKS FIELD

Here is the field for Saturday’s $525,000 Hambletonian Oaks at The Meadowlands, with post position, horse, driver, trainer and morning-line odds:

RACE 14 – POST TIME 6:06 P.M.

PP – HORSE – DRIVER – TRAINER – ODDS

1 – Elista Hanover – David Miller – Annie Stoebe – 9-5

2 – Warrawee Michelle – Ake Svanstedt – Ake Svanstedt – 8-1

3 – R Melina – Todd McCarthy – John Butenschoen – 5-2

4 – Allegiant – Scott Zeron – Vernon Beachy – 3-1

5 – Miss I La – Joe Bongiorno – Noel Daley – 20-1

6 – Buy A Round – Andrew McCarthy – Noel Daley – 6-1

7 – French Champagne – Dexter Dunn – Ake Svanstedt – 9-2

8 – Paulina Hanover – David Miller – Noel Daley – 20-1

9 – Date Night Hanover – Dexter Dunn – Marcus Melander – 15-1

10 – Drawn Impression – James MacDonald – Luc Blais – 12-1

NOTE: Allegiant, R Melina and Elista Hanover drew for posts 1-5 for winning their respective eliminations. Buy A Round qualified as the fourth-place finisher with the highest lifetime earnings.