Voting took place at the Minnesota Harness Racing Inc. (MHRI) annual meeting and awards banquet on Saturday, May 6 at Running Aces Casino Hotel & Racetrack, and despite seven strong nominees for the top harness racing equine honour of the 2022 season, there was a landslide winner when the votes were tabulated.
Iron Sharpens Iron was almost invincible in 2022, posting 11 wins in 12 starts overall, with nine wins from 10 starts at Running Aces. The incredibly talented son of the late Running Aces star trotter Banker Volo re-wrote the record books on three different occasions in 2022, eventually taking a 1:58.1 freshman mark that lowered the track record by nearly two seconds. He then equalled his record clocking again with a strong victory on Night Of Champions.
Throughout his incredible season, he displayed many different levels of speed and ability, including both tactical and gate speed. Driver Luke Plano handled the lines during his Aces campaign and grew quite fond of the highly talented gelding.
With total earnings of $111,605 ($108,455 earned in Minnesota), Iron Sharpens Iron also became the richest two-year-old ever in the Minnesota program. He earned a whopping 425 points to take the division crown.
Jeralene Roland's homebred trotter Iron Sharpens Iron (Banker Volo - Lindys On Fire - Explosive Matter) is trained by Dan Roland and assistant Angie Coleman.
(With files from Minnesota Harness Racing Inc.)