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Most Happy Fella Blood Dominant Among Pace Hopefuls



Somewhere up there in horse heaven, Most Happy Fella must be….well, a most happy fella.



That's because nine of the 10 finalists in the Meadowlands Pace trace directly to him in their male lines. What's more, five of the finalists trace to the 1970 Triple Crown winner through both their sire and the sire of their dam.



His enduring legacy is remarkable because he was second fiddle to Albatross, another son of Meadow Skipper, during their stud careers.



While the Albatross male line has atrophied, Most Happy Fella's has blossomed through his sons Cam Fella and Tyler B and his great-grandson Western Hanover.



On Saturday night, the Hanover Shoe Farms' stallion Dragon Again sends three sons in pursuit of the Meadowlands Pace trophy.



Elimination heat winner Custard The Dragon is by Dragon Again from a Jate Lobell mare while Westwardho Hanover is by Dragon Again from a Western Hanover mare. Both thus carry a 4x5 cross to Most Happy Fella as both Jate Lobell and Western Hanover are sons of No Nukes, a grandson of Most Happy Fella.



The third Dragon Again colt in the final is Wink N Atcha, who is out of an Artsplace mare, but he is also bred 4x5 to Most Happy Fella because his second dam is by No Nukes.



Two other Pace finalists tracing to MHF through both sire and maternal grandsire are outsiders Betterthancheddar and Bestofbest Hanover.



Betterthancheddar is a son of Bettor's Delight, a grandson of Cam Fella, out of a granddaughter of Cam Fella. Bestofbest Hanover is a son of the late Western Hanover out of the 2001 Horse of the Year Bunny Lake, and she is also a granddaughter of Cam Fella. So both Betterthancheddar and Bestofbest Hanover are bred 4x4 to Most Happy Fella.



Pre-race favorite Big Jim is a son of Western Ideal, who traces to MHF through Western Hanover, No Nukes, and Oil Burner. Big Jim has no other MHF blood although he picks up a few other splashes of Meadow Skipper blood.



New Zealand-bred Foreclosure N is almost certainly the only horse ever entered in the Pace foaled on New Year's Day. (By contrast, Betterthancheddar was foaled on June 2, so he enters the Pace at 25.5 months of age while Foreclosure fully five months older.) Foreclosure N is a son of Rocknroll Hanover from a mare by Fake Left, a son of Cam Fella that prevented Western Hanover from winning the 1992 Triple Crown. Foreclosure N is thus six generations removed from MHF in his male line and four generations removed through the sire of his dam.



Roll With Joe is brother to the red hot sire Bettor's Delight and he's bred 3x4 to MHF as he's a son of Cam's Card Shark and out of a mare by Armbro Emerson, whose dam was a daughter of MHF.



Powerful Mist gets his MHF blood from his sire Powerful Toy, a son of Jate Lobell. Then this male line goes to No Nukes, Oil Burner, and MHF.



The odd horse out in the Meadowlands Pace is Feel Like A Fool. He is not only the only entrant that doesn'ttrace to MHF in his male line, but he is also the only gelding. What MHF blood Feel Like A Fool lacks from his sire Art Major, he picks up from his dam, who has two crosses to MHF within four generations.



While Dragon Again is the leading sire among starters, all 10 finalists have different broodmare sires: The MHF-line broodmare sires represented are Camtastic, Fake Left, Western Hanover, Jate Lobell, and Precious Bunny.



Other broodmare sires represented are Artsplace and Armbro Emerson (both sons of Abercrombie), Matt's Scooter, Jenna's Beach Boy, and Big Towner.



Remarkably, four of the 10 Pace finalist hail from the maternal family of Miss Duvall, known to some as the Romola maternal family. (It's the family of the Romola Hanover, the dominant pacing matriarch of the sport in the 1960s-70s).



Powerful Mist and Bestofbest Hanover share a common maternal heritage as their third dams, Misty Raquel (Powerful Mist) and Rah Rah Rah (Bestofbest Hanover) are sisters, both out of Richelle Hanover. They were bred by Bob O'Donnell's powerful Hobby Horse Farm of Ohio. (I recall seeing Bob drive Richelle Hanover at a county fair when she dumped him over the hub rail. Bob came away without injury, but was embarrassed that the seat of his driving pants was ripped badly)



One thing is certain: