This weekend's two Breeders Crown Open Trot events could in fact be swept by one owner and two trotting mares.
Longtime owner Herb Liverman, who has enjoyed his share of Breeders Crown success in the past, is poised for a massive weekend with sole or part ownership in five solid contenders: four of his horses are first, second or third choice on the morning line.
With Breeders Crown trophies won by Muscles Yankee (1998 Three-Year-Old Colt Trot), Kadabra (2002 Three-Year-Old Colt Trot), Belovedangel (2005 Three-Year-Old Filly Pace), Poof Shes Gone (2009 Two-Year-Old Filly Trot) and Bee A Magician (2013 Three-Year-Old Filly Trot), Liverman hopes to take home two Breeders Crowns on the same evening for the first time. He has three chances on Friday night with Bee A Magician in the Open Mares Trot and two fillies -- Wild Honey and Smexi -- in the Two-Year-Old Filly Trot.
Wild Honey has won ten straight races for Liverman, who co-owns with Christina Takter and Ontario's John & Jim Fielding. The Cantab Hall - U Wanna Lindy filly's only blemish is a second-placed effort in her first lifetime start.
Friday's Two-Year-Old Filly Trot will be the first time that the world record holders from this crop -- Mission Brief (1:50.3 at The Red Mile) and Wild Honey (1:55.2 at Delaware) have faced each other. Wild Honey has Post 2 while Mission Brief has Post 4. Liverman's second entrant, Goldsmith Maid winner Smexi, drew the outside in Post 10.
Those same connections also own Smexi, a filly sired by Explosive Matter from the Yankee Glide mare Sanna Hanover. While her resume isn't quite as impressive as her stablemate, Smexi's bankroll certainly is. With $392,245 on her card, she's not far behind the $439,703 earned by Wild Honey.
Liverman knows his two fillies have their work cut out for them to knock off Mission Brief.
"I would guess that Mission Brief is faster, if everything goes her way," Liverman told Trot Insider, pointing out that Smexi won the Goldsmith Maid after Mission Brief (and a host of others) made early breaks.
With Yannick Gingras driving both Mission Brief and Wild Honey to elim wins last week, Gingras will drive Mission Brief in the Breeders Crown Final. Ron Pierce will drive Wild Honey.
A winner of everything -- including a Breeders Crown -- in 2013, Bee A Magician seeks a repeat for Liverman, David Mc Duffee and Ontario's Mel Hartman in the Open Mare Trot. The consensus on this race is that despite the 9-5 morning line odds on Bee A Magician, this race is by no means going to be easy.
"Bee A Magician has the 3 post so I think she's got a good chance," said Liverman. "There's about four or five that are terrific...Handover Belle won last Friday, that was a big step-up for her. There's only eight in the race but they all have a shot."
On Saturday, Liverman will have his eyes on two trotting events with extra interest. Divisional honours in the two-year-old trotting colt ranks could be clinched by Pinkman, who Liverman co-owns with Takter, the Fielding Bros. and Joyce McClelland.
Pinkman has been installed as the 2-1 morning line choice in the two-year-old colt trot, and Liverman knows he also has the confidence of more than just the oddsmakers. Gingras had the choice of Habitat (9-2) and Pinkman, and chose Pinkman.
Liverman's newest acquisition, trotting mare Maven, was successful in her debut for trainer Jimmy Takter, overcoming the outside post against a talented group of open male trotters to win in 1:52.2. Maven drew Post 4 in the $500,000 Open Trot final, and is listed as the third choice at 4-1.
"When I spoke to Jimmy Takter four or five days before, I said I would bid on her if he thinks she's competitive against the male horses. I spoke to Yannick Gingras and he said that in her race at Vernon Downs that was the best she's ever been."
It was a calculated gamble employed by Liverman, who sold upwards of a dozen broodmares at Harrisburg and invested that money back into a solid racehorse. A racehorse that, if all goes well, he might race overseas next year.
"The last Sunday in January, it would be nice if she could go to Paris for the Prix d'Amerique."
With the addition of the four bye horses this week -- Commander Crowe, Creatine, Intimidate and Market Share -- Liverman knows that Maven has her work cut out for her to capture her third straight Breeders Crown trophy.
"It will be a tougher race than last Saturday except that we won't have the 10."
Maven's recent form has been more than impressive. In her last three starts, with three different trainers, she has won two of three. The race she didn't win was her fastest -- a 1:51.4 mile in the Allerage Mare Trot at The Red Mile, a race that went faster than the Allerage Open Trot (won by Creatine in 1:51.2).
Liverman, 68, a Montreal native now based in Miami, Fla., was introduced to the sport by his father Irving, one of harness racing’s most accomplished owners and breeders of the past 50 years. You can bet Herb will be providing phone updates from The Meadowlands this weekend to Irv, now 91, watching at home in Hampstead, Que. “He had a stroke three-and-a-half years ago,” Herb said, "but he still loves watching the races.”
The $5.4 million Breeders Crown championships will be conducted this coming weekend on Friday, November 21 and Saturday, November 22 at The Meadowlands featuring the 'Fantastic Four' on Friday, followed by the 'Great Eight' on Saturday.
Breeders Crown Links:
(Paul Delean contributed to this report)
Herb, all this good luck and
Herb,
all this good luck and good work could
not have happened to a better person than you.
Good luck with all your horses.
PETER LITWIN