2009 O'Brien Awards - Two-Year-Old Trotting Fillies
2, 1:55s ($989,355)
Muscles Yankee – Examination – SJs Caviar
2009 summary: 16 – 10-4-1 ($989,355)
Trainer: Jimmy Takter
Driver: Ron Pierce
Owners: Christina Takter (NJ), John & Jim Fielding (ON)
Breeder: Perretti Farms (NJ)
Yet another in a long line of top stakes performers from the Jimmy Takter stable, Costa Rica was a major force on the Grand Circuit all season long.
The daughter of Muscles Yankee - Examination was also a model of consistency, missing the board just once in 16 trips postward.
Her biggest win came on Canadian soil when she captured the $475,000 Peaceful Way final on September 20 at Mohawk Racetrack in a season’s best 1:55.
Costa Rica also posted a commanding victory in the $450,000 Goldsmith Maid three weeks earlier at Chester Downs in Pennsylvania along with wins in the $200,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes final at The Meadowlands and the $157,800 Matron Stakes final at Dover Downs.
The $23,000 yearling purchase ended her freshman campaign with just shy of $1 million in purse earnings to her credit.
2, 1:55.1 ($1,076,326)
Kadabra – Travelin Superlite – Garland Lobell
2009 summary: 12 – 10-1-1 ($1,076,326)
Trainer: Richard Norman
Drivers: David Miller, Paul MacDonell
Owners: Melvin Hartman (ON), Herb Liverman (FL), David McDuffee (NH), John Fielding (ON)
Breeder: Tara Hills Stud Ltd. (ON)
It was a phenomenal rookie season for this trotting filly who often pulled a disappearing act on her rivals.
The daughter of Kadabra - Travelin Superlite made an immediate impact by winning the lucrative $525,000 Merrie Annabelle final at The Meadowlands in just her third career start behind the gate.
The Ontario-bred filly then came to Canada where she captured a $130,000 OSS Gold final and a $156,328 division of The Champlain Stakes in back to back races at Mohawk Racetrack. She followed that up with a narrow second-place finish in the $475,000 Peaceful Way final.
Poof Shes Gone then took her show back on the road and captured a $65,800 International Stallion Stakes division at Lexington’s Red Mile in early October.
She enjoyed her finest hour back on Canadian soil when she emerged victorious in the $617,880 Breeders Crown on October 24 at Woodbine Racetrack, after winning her elimination the week prior.
Proving her durability, Poof Shes Gone dominated her $300,000 OSS Super Final on November 14 at Woodbine to wrap up her rookie campaign with 10 wins and over a million in purse earnings.
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