Photo:  the hope is that yearling Danielle Hanover can be saved as a broodmare after coming down with spinal ataxia

Two of the better bred horses in the Harrisburg yearling catalogue have come down with cases of spinal ataxia. One, Player Hanover, had been euthanized. The other, Danielle Hanover, is likely to survive the ordeal but will likely never race and has, of course, been taken out of the sale.

“Both of them were ataxic behind,” explained Hanover spokesman Murray Brown. “But, unfortunately, that’s part of the breeding business. It seems that when it happens it almost always affects the best ones.”

Player Hanover, a colt, is by Muscle Hill out of World Champion and millionairess Possess The Magic. Danielle Hanover, also a filly, is by Cantab Hall out of D Train, and is a half-sister to Donato Hanover.

“The Muscle Hill-Possess The Magic colt was so neurologically impaired that he had to be put down,” Brown said. “The Cantab Hall-D Train filly was not nearly as bad. She is likely untrainable, but hopefully she will be okay as a broodmare. I don’t think that its unrealistic to have expected that between the two of them they would have brought between $300,000-$400,000.”