by Lou Monaco, for the Hambletonian Society

Hannelore Hanover and driver Yannick Gingras took the lead on the far turn and was much the best, capturing the $471,200 Hambletonian Maturity for 4-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles by 3 1/2 lengths on the Meadowlands Pace undercard Saturday night at the Meadowlands.

Hannelore Hanover, the 4-5 post-time favorite and daughter of Swan For All, recorded her ninth victory in 10 starts this year and paid $3.80 to win.

“She was even better tonight than she was in Canada (winning three straight in the Armbro Flight eliminations and final and Ms. Versatility),” said Gingras. “The second time I raced her in Canada, she was a little bit hot. They made a couple of changes on her and she usually starts out a little bit stiff, but she warms right out of it. Tonight, the minute she hit the track, she felt super. She just dominated them.”

Trained by Ron Burke, Hannelore Hanover brushed past Musical Rhythm, driven by John Campbell, at the half-mile mark and cleared to take the lead for good.

Fractions for the 1 1/8-mile trot were :26.3, :55.4, 1:24.4, 1:52.3 and 2:05.4.

Wings of Royalty, driven by Brian Sears, held on nicely to finish second with Crazy Wow, driven by Tim Tetrick and also trained by Burke, grabbing the show spot.

Hannelore Hanover, who was supplemented to the race for $50,000, joined Bee A Magician (second in 2014) and Shake It Cerry (third in 2015) as the only mares to start in the Maturity against the males.

Created by the Hambletonian Society and the Meadowlands as a racing opportunity solely for 4-year-olds previously eligible to the Hambletonian and Oaks, the Maturity racing conditions prohibit the use of Lasix, the only race day medication permitted in New Jersey.