Top older trotting mares Bee A Magician and Shake It Cerry faced each other in their first qualifying race of the season on Saturday (April 9) at Meadowlands Racetrack.
The Jimmy Takter-trained Shake It Cerry (David Miller) moved from third at the 1:27.3 third quarter mark in the morning's third qualifier and kicked home in 27 seconds to prevail by three-quarters of a length over the four-year-old debuting millionaire Crazy Wow (Tim Tetrick) from the Ron Burke stable in 1:55 flat. The multiple award-winning mare Bee A Magician (Brian Sears) followed in sixth-place throughout and sprinted her final quarter in :26.3 to finish third, just one length behind, for trainer Richard 'Nifty' Norman.
Both Shake It Cerry and Bee A Magician were 2015 O'Brien Award finalists, with 'Bee' earning her fourth trophy after a $1.1 million season. She won 10 races including the prestigious Maple Leaf Trot at Mohawk Racetrack. The six-year-old Kadabra mare, who boasts a career bankroll of more than $3.85 million, is campaigned by the ownership group of Melvin Hartman, Herb Liverman and David McDuffee.
Shake It Cerry won five races and added $446,000 to her $2 million-plus bankroll last year, highlighted by an impressive win in her final start of the season in the TVG Mares Trot at The Meadowlands. The five-year-old daughter of Donato Hanover is owned by Solveigs Racing Partners.
Elsewhere in Saturday qualifying action, Canada's 2015 Three-Year-Old Pacing Filly of the Year Solar Sister (Kevin Wallis) was a qualifying winner at Pompano Park for the Gregg McNair stable. The four-year-old daughter of Mach Three won her second qualifier of the season by 11 lengths in 1:52.2. During her sophomore campaign, the Ontario Sires Stakes superstar won half of her 16 starts and banked over a half-million dollars for owners David Willmot and Clay Harland Horner. Last week, she was nosed out in a 1:53.2 qualifying mile by stakes mare Single Me.
Homicide Hunter (Wally Hennessey) won his first qualifier of the year during Pompano's Saturday session by 14 lengths in 1:56.1 for his new connections. The son of Mr Cantab, who won all 16 of his Indiana Sires Stakes starts last year for Dr. Patrick Graham and trainer Curt Grummel, was purchased by Crawford Farms for his four-year-old campaign and is conditioned by Chris Oakes.