People who dislike snow were not the only ones feeling glum during the winter in New Jersey. It was a winter of discontent for standout trotting filly Poof Shes

Gone, as well.

“She didn’t seem that good through the winter,” trainer Richard 'Nifty' Norman said. “She was sort of out of her routine and not her old self. A couple of times when I trained her here, you could tell she just wasn’t herself. I was a little worried.

“As the weather has gotten better, she’s gotten better. She likes to get outside and we had a pretty rotten winter, so she didn’t get a lot of her days that she enjoys. She wasn’t happy, her appetite wasn’t as great; she was just off. As soon as the weather broke, she was better.”

Poof Shes Gone enjoyed a magical season in 2009. She won 10 of 12 races and never finished worse than third on her way to $1.07 million in purses. Her seasonal earnings were the second most for a two-year-old trotter in history, trailing only Snow White’s $1.25 million in 2007, and she was honoured by the U.S. Harness Writers Association with the Dan Patch Award as the sport’s best two-year-old filly.

Her victories included the Breeders Crown, the Merrie Annabelle and the Ontario Sire Stakes Super Final. In addition to her honours in the States, she grabbed an O’Brien Award as Canada’s top two-year-old filly trotter.

Now, the daughter of Kadabra--Travelin Superlite is getting ready to begin her 2010 campaign. Last week, she won a qualifier at the Meadowlands in 1:58.2. She was fourth most of the way before trotting home in :27.3 with regular driver David Miller at the lines.

“I was real happy the other day,” Norman said. “That was kind of a soft qualifier for her, which was exactly what we needed. I wanted her to sit in and just trot home. She seems like she’s right on schedule.”

Norman expects to send Poof Shes Gone back to the Meadowlands for another qualifier on Thursday. Then she will head to Canada for an Ontario Sire Stakes Gold event on May 17 at Woodbine Racetrack, followed by the Casual Breeze (June 11) and Elegantimage (June 26) stakes.

“That gives me a week up my sleeve in case something goes wrong,” Norman said. “I probably won’t qualify her three times; probably just twice and go straight to Canada.”

Poof She’s Gone is owned by Melvin Hartman, Herb Liverman, David McDuffee and John Fielding. She was purchased as a yearling for $170,000 at the Standardbred Horse Sale.

By February 2009, Norman was already feeling confident about Poof Shes Gone.

“Dave McDuffee remembers me pulling her out and telling him this is the best horse we’ve got,” Norman said. “I knew she was the best one I had by a long shot. That’s always a good sign. I always think if you’re training them down and you think a lot of them are good, you’re probably in trouble. You’re not going to get that lucky. If one stands out, that’s a good sign for you.”

All signs now point toward a triumphant return in 2010.

“Sometimes, they don’t come back as good as they were, but she seems to be back on her game now,” Norman said.

This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S.
Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.