Sherlyn Hanover brings a little good news after tragic Hanover Shoe Farms fire

by Melissa Keith

On Monday (April 13), Sherlyn Hanover trotted to a new mark of 1:56.2 for driver Louis-Philippe Roy at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Leading at every call and opening up late over closest rival Green Nineteen, the 3-year-old Greenshoe filly has now won half of her four career starts for trainer Kyle Fellows, all at Mohawk. Sheryln Hanover is the daughter of 18-year-old Snow Angel Hanover, a broodmare whose latest foal perished in a barn fire at Hanover Shoe Farms on Sunday (April 12).

All but one of Snow Angel Hanover’s six living foals were produced via embryo transfer. The unraced mare is a 100 per cent producer, with all of her racing-aged progeny winning at least one race, two of them earning six-figure bankrolls: Sambuca Hanover (3, 1:52.4f; $516,891) and 2017 Kentucky Futurity champion Snowstorm Hanover (3, 1:53.2m; $870,386). Sherlyn Hanover is her youngest foal currently racing; Snow Angel Hanover’s 2-year-old Captain Corey filly, Serilda Hanover, was a $100,000 Harrisburg yearling last November.

Snow Angel Hanover’s 2026 foal, a filly by Volume Eight, was born to embryo recipient mare Measure Formeasure at Hanover Shoe Farms in Adams County, PA on April 6. When fire broke out around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday (April 12), Measure Formeasure and her newborn were among the horses stabled in the affected barn. A Facebook post by the official farm account reported that “[t]he mare was safely led out of the barn, but this filly ran back into her stall and tragically could not be saved in time.”

The unnamed filly was among 12 Hanover Shoe Farms-owned horses to die in the blaze, which reportedly originated from a manure pile before wind-blown flames ignited a barn housing broodmares, foals, and a teaser stallion.

The mares who died included 11-year-old A Gift For You (3, 1:55.3f; $102,586) and her unnamed Greenshoe colt; 20-year-old All Spirit (p, 6, 1:50.3f; $511,505) and her Stay Hungry colt; 6-year-old Freshgroundpepper (3, 1:55.4f; $34,568) and her Volume Eight colt; 9-year-old surrogate Hacerla (p, 2, 2:05h; $4,897) and her Stay Hungry—Lady Dale colt; 6-year-old Old Magic (3, 1:55f; $91,493) and her International Moni filly; and Snow Angel Hanover’s Volume Eight filly. Unraced 11-year-old teaser stallion Renier Hanover also lost his life before he could be rescued from the 38-stall barn, the largest at Hanover Shoe Farms.

Lightly-staked Sherlyn Hanover did not race at 2, but is off to a promising start as a 3-year-old following her first-ever qualifier, March 13 at Mohawk. A quick-closing second to Delightful Yankee in that nine-horse qualifier for 3-year-old trotters, she finished third despite landing post 10 in her March 23 pari-mutuel debut. Drawing post 8 for her March 29 return, Sherlyn Hanover got away strongly outside of breakers R Halo and Up To No Gouda, pocketed up behind pacesetting Loyal Leo, and cleared him approaching the half. Sherlyn Hanover jumped it off on the final turn, but returned a winning 4-5 favorite on April 6 with a better draw (post 6) after her previous two-move race.

From 16 matings since 2011, USTA statistics show that Snow Angel Hanover has aborted four times, come up barren twice, and lost three foals; a January 2026 Sig Sauer breeding did not result in a pregnancy. Her offspring, while limited-edition, have proven themselves on the racetrack. Her four daughters are all owned by well-known breeders.

Divine Moonshine (2, 1:58f; $10,130), originally named Stowe Hanover, was a $115,000 Harrisburg yearling. She did not race at 3, and returned to become a Hanover Shoe Farms broodmare in October 2021. Now 7, the Bar Hopping mare is the dam of three foals: Chapter Seven filly Daisha Hanover, sold for $105,000 at Harrisburg in 2024; Greenshoe colt Distill Hanover, sold for $28,000 the following year; and 2025 Volume Eight filly Devotion Hanover.

Sambuca Hanover joined the Cameo Hills Farm of Montgomery, NY broodmares in 2025 and was bred to Chapter Seven last March.

Two-year-old Serilda Hanover, yet to qualify, is owned by David McDuffee of Rye, NH; Paul Bordogna of Franklin Lakes, NJ; Landl Devisser Llc of Holland, MI; and Melvin Hartman of Ottawa, ON.

Sherlyn Hanover (3, 1:56.2s; $14,897) is owned by young Kerwood, ON breeders Dean and Ashley Wilson, whose homebreds often include the “D A” initials at the start of their names. While just a $35,000 Harrisburg yearling, the filly appears to be coming into her own at a time when the sport, and her dam’s genetic legacy, could both use a little good news. Sherlyn Hanover is the 2-1 morning line favorite in her upcoming start on Monday (April 20) at Mohawk for driver Doug McNair.