The race of the century

He won one of the most prestigious races of all time, then retired to become an elite stallion. His performances in Europe in 1988 are still occasionally talked about by Scandinavian trotting fans who all agree on one thing: there was something really special about Sugarcane Hanover.

When Sugarcane Hanover sold at Harrisburg, Hanover president John Simpson bought him together with farm superintendent Peter Boyce for $15,000. According to Dean Hoffman in his book Quest For Excellence, some people probably didn’t like the farm president bidding on a horse, feeling it was a buy-back or prearranged deal, but Simpson, together with Boyce, had simply fallen in love with the son of Florida Pro, and was buying the horse for himself. At first attracted to the colt by his fluid and elegant gait, Simpson didn’t force Sugarcane at 2 – but there was no question about his abilities. In his elimination heat of the Horseman Stake he beat Royal Prestige, winning in 1:58.3 (1.13,7). Even though he finished third in the race-off behind Royal Prestige and Express Ride, he had shown what he was capable of. The young talent showed one major weakness, however, which would affect him the rest of the freshman season. Sugarcane suffered from sore hooves and occasionally made breaks. After his 10th freshman start, he developed a quarter crack. Not wanting to push him, Simpson simply decided to turn him out for the season.

Return to the track in May, tragedy struck as the quarter cracks also returned, and more time off was required. Not wanting to risk anything, Sugarcane Hanover was initially racing in overnight races against easy opposition but this was merely done to give the horse time to ready himself. His first meeting against some of the better horses in his crop came in the Matron at Garden State in mid-September where he met Hambletonian winner Nuclear Kosmos. Although losing to Mangrove and Stanley Dancer, Sugarcane was an encouraging second and had the strongest finish of all.

“He is just coming around”

Going into the Kentucky Futurity in the beginning of October, Royal Prestige was the favorite and his record of 10-3 in 13 starts looked very impressive. Sugarcane’s 5-1-1 in 10 starts was quite good, and as it was clear he was starting to come into his own, he did get some press, too. “He is just coming around” said Simpson and added that “he’s a very fast horse who is much better than he has shown. He just might be the horse to beat in the whole thing.” Taking the early lead in the first elimination, he went on to win in 1:56 (1.12,1) ahead of Mr Novak and Everglade Hanover. Royal Prestige then won the second elimination ahead of Victorious Tail and Mangrove. In the final, Sugarcane went into the lead but dropped back to third behind Everglade Hanover and Victorious Tail at the quarter. When Victorious Tail took the lead at the three quarter mark, closely followed by Royal Prestige, Sugarcane, sitting in fourth place, swung to the outside and pulled away for the win without much urging from Ron Waples, winning the final in 1:55.2 (1.11,7).

A break caused him to lose the Geers to Everglade Hanover and he also finished second to him in their division of the Colonial. But mid-November at the Breeders Crown at Garden State Park, Sugarcane was back to his winning ways, sweeping past Nuclear Kosmos and Royal Prestige to win ahead of Everglade Hanover. Ron Waples commented after the race that “Sugarcane can accelerate faster than any trotter I’ve sat behind in my life.” The same group met a week later, again at Garden State, for the Shamrock, and Sugarcane again prevailed, now beating Britelite Lobell by a nose with Royal Prestige in third.

In most cases Sugarcane would now have been retired to stud at Hanover, but Simpson didn’t want to retire his star, because he, according to Hoffman’s book, “thought that perhaps Sugarcane’s best days lay ahead of him since he was finally sound.” That winter, the Norwegian Helmer Strømbo contacted Simpson and offered him half a million dollars for his star trotter. Strømbo took the hint, though, when the offer supposedly was refused before he had even managed to complete the sentence.

At 4, Simpson let Sugarcane again find his form in overnight races for almost no money. That also meant he had a fresh horse in the important races later in the season. At the end of June, Sugarcane took home the Nat Ray, defeating Britelite Lobell and Express Ride. A week later he again beat Express Ride when his trademark finish netted him another Breeders Crown. Sitting 10 lengths behind the leading Express Ride at half, which was still 8 length at the third quarter pole, when Ron Waples asked for speed he got it in abundance and Sugarcane had no problems winning by 1 1/2 lengths.

The following week he made a rare break in the American Trotting Championship which was won by Whip It Wood. But Sugarcane came back in formidable fashion in November, winning the van Lennep International at Pompano Park in 2:27.4 (1.13,4) for a mile and a quarter. A world record according to the Americans, though that’s debatable: Swedish star Utah Bulwark had trotted in a kilometer time of 1.13,3 (2:27.2) over a marginally longer distance in April that year, so technically Sugarcane’s mark was just a North American record.

A surprising purchase

Voted Aged Trotter Of The Year, he would normally have attracted a lot of attention from foreign buyers. However, as Stig-H Johansson later said, nobody really thought he was for sale as he was widely expected to join the stallion ranks at Hanover Shoe Farms. But maybe it wasn’t that easy to stand Sugarcane at Hanover? His sire, Florida Pro, had already stood at Hanover for several years and had been a disappointment. Why, then, should Hanover gamble on a son of Florida Pro? Of course, Sugarcane Hanover was an elegant and graceful, lighter type of horse and not at all a copy of Florida Pro.

That winter Gunnar Eggen, the Norwegian champion trainer, and Helmer Strømbo were visiting Florida to buy a trotter. They were annoyed to find out that he horse they were there to buy had already been sold. Well aware of Sugarcane’s fantastic 1987 season, Strømbo was willing to up last year’s failed bid. Traveling to Pennsylvania with a surprised Eggen, who later admitted that “I never thought it was possible to buy something like that,” Strømbo now offered Simpson a million dollars. The offer was rejected, but Simpson indicated he was willing to listen to offers.

Eggen later told the story of what happened that day in the Norwegian book På Gullkantede Sko, saying “When we got there, the price was high. The negotiations went on all day while I was driving other horses. (…) It took a few hours and the price was eventually set at $2 million. Helmer came out to me, we went up to the track and talked about it for five minutes. Helmer wondered whether it was prudent to buy the horse for that price. Olle Goop had Grades Singing, who was the best in Scandinavia and in Europe, and we knew what she had earned. I said that we probably wouldn’t do worse. The intention was to race Sugarcane for two years in Europe. I believed that we could earn 5-6 million NOK, close to $1m USD, and with stud fees on top of that, it should be ok as long as the horse was fertile. Then Helmer felt it was okay. But he had to say yes before we departed from Hanover Shoe Farm that day. We could not leave, think it over and call again. So the contract was written then.”

A shocking debut

In the 80s, American-bred trotters had lost some of their glamor in Scandinavia – and Europe for that matter. The so-called stars often looked average when coming to the Elitlopp, European horses usually won the International Trot and European-bred horses, like The Onion, were even starting to set world records at the mile-long distance, something previously unheard of. Top French trotters like Ideal du Gazeau, Jorky and Minou du Donjon could easily hold their own against American challengers, so when Sugarcane Hanover made his European debut at Åby in April 1988, he was only the bettors’ third choice, returning almost 6 times the money bet on him.

European bettors would never make that mistake again.

“I have never, ever sat behind anything like this.”

Gunnar Eggen

In the 2600 meter (1 5/8th mile) long race Gunnar Eggen got Sugarcane into a perfect position second over and attacked with slightly less than a half-mile to go. The front-runner Callit, winner of the 1987 International Trot, and the rest of the Swedish elite looked like average trotters when Sugarcane delivered his trademark finish and left the rest for dead, winning by 20 or so lengths (!) Interviewed after the race, Eggen coolly stated that “I’ve driven a lot of good horses in my life, but I have never, ever sat behind anything like this.”

Any doubt in the general superiority of US breeding at the time was eradicated by Sugarcane’s last lap at Åby. The next month he met the Scandinavian elite again in the 2100 meter (1 5/16 mile) Oslo Grand Prix. Sitting outside the leading Rex Rodney, Gunnar Eggen engaged the turbo with half a lap to go on the 5/8 track and Sugarcane again left the others in the dust, setting a world record for the distance with 1.12,5, which is equivalent to 2:25.4 on a 1 1/4 mile, demolishing the old record.

An elimination beyond belief

The 1988 Elitlopp was a real clash of titans, with Sugarcane going up against the newly imported duo Mack Lobell and Napoletano. The rest of the European elite, except Ourasi, was also there – but they were all playing second fiddle to the US-bred trio. The first elimination started with a massive shock when Sugarcane threw himself in a wild break, losing 60-70 meters to the front runners, before Napoletano did the same in the first turn, although not losing as much ground. Up front, Action Skoatter, the uncontrollable Dutch speed demoness, forced Pay Nibs to a 1:06 opening, roughly 26.4 quarter,. Spotting the field far back Napoletano, with Sugarcane Hanover at his tail, caught up to the rest down the backstretch and went they around the rest in the last turn. The famous Elitlopp commentator Bosse Rydgren screamed in admiration that “behind Napoletano, Sugarcane is just jogging along, what animals!”

Coming out of the last turn, Eggen maneuvered Sugarcane four wide, and him and Napoletano battled it out in the final stretch with Sugarcane winning by a nose in 1.12,3 (1:56.2f). The crowd was shocked and just shook their heads: Sugarcane’s performance was so extraordinary it took their breaths away. Gunnar Eggen was not happy, however, as he realized the track was way too hard for Sugarcane’s sensitive hooves and demanded the track crew water it as much as possible before the final. The master trainer also reshod the colt after the elimination. It helped as the horse got on better with the surface. In the final, however, Mack Lobell was dominant and it is doubtful whether Sugarcane, who had to settle for second place, could have beaten him anyway.

Throughout the summer Sugarcane won most of his races, but his hooves and back were occasionally bothering him. This caused him to make some seemingly unmotivated and unnecessary breaks at times, also losing a few races. He wore custom made shoes and underwent regular acupuncture treatment to try to remedy all shortcomings. In July, Gunnar Eggen had to take a break from driving because of a terrible accident at Jarlsberg: he drove Heilo Vestermarken who managed to get entangled with another trotter, Porsche Kosmos. While the latter was quickly taken care of and calmed down by Ulf Thoresen, Heilo Vestermarken, on the other hand, got more and more anxious and worked up with every second. When Gunnar Eggen tried to calm him down things completely boiled over in his head: the horse bit Eggen hard in the arm and refused to let go of his arm for a long while. Eventually the horse let go, but a big chunk of Eggen’s arm was badly damaged, the arm was broken in several places and tendons bitten off. Eggen was hospitalized for 2 weeks where they transplanted tendons from the thigh, though the bite still left permanent injuries. Sugarcane Hanover never gave anybody any problems, though,. According to caretaker Morten Waage, Sugarcane had the calm, gentle disposition of a gelding, claiming that “you could have picked him up and taken him to the movies” without problems.

An educational loss

Another clash of titans took place at by in mid-September. Making one of only five lifetime foreign starts, Ourasi came from France to challenge the Scandinavian elite in the Åby Stora Pris over 2100 meters (1 5/16 mile). As usual, Ourasi didn’t leave very fast but was quickly moved up outside the leading Meadow Roland. With 600 meters (3/8 mile) to go Sugarcane sat last when Eggen sent him forward. Rounding the field quickly, he worked his way around Ourasi at the end of the last turn. But two factors then came into play. Ourasi has a rather insane fighting spirit, probably more extreme than any other trotter in history, and absolutely refuses to lose, so even though Sugarcane had a length on him at the top of the stretch he was in no way prepared to surrender – rather the opposite as he increased his speed hellbent on catching up to him and displays that characteristic Ourasi look where the ears to flat back and the head stretches forward. Moveover, Sugarcane was still bothered by his sore hoves and also some back problems. So with Ourasi mounting a comeback down the final stretch, Sugarcane’s gait got worse and worse, and inevitably he broke stride. Despite appearing defeated at the top of the final stretch, Ourasi managed to recover to pull off a fantastic win.

Yet, this loss was in many ways the primary reason Sugarcane Hanover won the March of Dimes two months later.

The race of the century

Exactly two months after his loss at Åby, the March of Dimes was held at Garden State Park. Billed as the race of the century, it pitted Mack Lobell against Ourasi for the first and only time ever, but with all 10 participants being exceptional trotters: Mack Lobell, Esotico Prad, Friendly Face, Callit, Sugarcane Hanover, Scenic Regal, Ourasi, Napoletano, Go Get Lost and No Sex Please. Four trotters came into the race with 5 straight wins; Mack Lobell, Napoletano, Callit and Ourasi – while two had four wins in their last five starts; Scenic Regal and No Sex Please – and all participants had at least two wins in their last five starts. As is well known, Sugarcane surprised many by winning ahead of Ourasi.

In the book På Gullkantede Sko, Gunnar Eggen explained the race and his tactics: “I learned a lot from by Stora Pris when we met Ourasi, when he broke over the line. Had I not met Ourasi then, I don’t know how it would have gone in America.

At Åby I attacked a little too early. Then Sugarcane was on the rebound form-wise, he had been out with a slight injury and his speed faded and he started losing his gait at the end. Ourasi was very slow that day, so had I been sitting quietly until 300 meters (3/16th mile) to go, I would have won. Before the race in America, Helmer Strømbo and I agreed that we should position the horse in the second or third pair on the outside, but the tactics were changed on the way over and in the days before the race. We knew Ourasi was slow from the gate, and we knew Mack Lobell would take the lead. What I had not counted on was that Napoletano with Stig H Johansson, from post eight, would leave that fast from the gate. But Stig H had carefully thought about the race, too. He understood that it was all about leaving quickly as many of those inside were not so fast out of the gate. He wanted to get Mack Lobell’s back, which he did.

I was fifth or sixth into the first turn. Mack Lobell took the lead, Napoletano was trailing him and Callit was outside of them. I had Ourasi behind me. I knew then that Callit wanted cover. I had agreed in advance with Helmer that I would now try to get outside of Mack as fast as possible because we knew Ourasi would be going forward. When I started moving, I saw Ourasi come three-wide so I advanced forward but relinquished the position immediately. I was allowed to trail the front two until it was 150 meters / one-tenth mile left. It is a 400 meters (one quarter) final stretch, so it is not dangerous to sit quietly for a while.”

As Sugarcane moved up outside Mack Lobell down the backstretch, US commentators shouted that “here comes Sugarcane, he’s going to take a shot at Mack Lobell” but Eggen’s comments shows a more refined tactical approach. This also went back to Sugarcane’s first race in Europe.

According to Eggen, “What characterized Sugarcane was that no matter how fast they drove in front he always had a finish and could accelerate without problems. We could sit in the pack going a quarter in 32, yet he could accelerate to 27 in no time. We saw this during Olympiatravet which was his first race in Scandinavia. Callit was in the lead, but it was as if they were reversing when I came charging with Sugarcane. I had gone fast with him in training the previous Tuesday in Gothenburg and knew he was good. But, I didn’t realize he was that fast over short distances, even when the tempo was high. I learned something there, that you could sit quietly with him for a long time if only there was a high tempo in the race.”

An elite stallion

Shortly after the race it was announced that Sugarcane Hanover would be retired to stud. Sugarcane Hanover became an outstanding stallion in Europe, shuttling between Sweden and Italy. He was awarded the coveted Elite stallion status in Sweden and was champion stallion there in 1998. His sired top trotters like Kramer Boy, Hot Tub, Good as Gold, who in turned sired Elitlopp-winner Steinlager, Herr Jägermeister and Sugarcane Volo. He also proved an excellent damsire, and his daughters have produced stars like Revenue S, Triton Sund and BBS Sugarlight. He is also the damsire of Caddie Dream, dam of Prix d’Amerique-winner Readly Express. Separately, in 1988, in a stroke of perfect timing, KG Bertmark imported his sire Florida Pro to Sweden. With the help of Sugarcane, Florida Pro immediately got a full book.

Sugarcane Hanover passed away at his home at Erikssunds säteri in Sweden on Nov 2, 2009, 26 years old. Bengt Larsson at the stud farm explained what happened: “He was just as usual, he has always been cheerful and nice, and just when we had let him out, he went to his usual place where he always laid down to roll. Then it was like something simply snapped and he probably died immediately, most likely the heart couldn’t take it anymore.”

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