After watching Bee A Magician put together an 18-race win streak that began at age two and covered her entire three-year-old season, harness racing fans wanted to know what was wrong with the 2013 Horse of the Year as she went winless in her first four starts this season.
Not much, says trainer Nifty Norman, other than the fact that winning is difficult.
“Lots of people have said to me that she’s been no good, but only once really,” Norman said. “Her first start was a great run, [second in 1:51.3] right off the bat and she had trot finishing. We kind of raced her easy in her second start and she was second; she was a little bit flat. Then she was sick, but she’s been good again ever since.
“People just expect her to win,” he added with a chuckle. “It’s not that easy; I wish it was. But I think she’s been pretty solid.”
Bee A Magician, owned by Mel Hartman, Herb Liverman, and David McDuffee, returned to her winning ways with a world-record 1:51.1 triumph July 12 in the third round of the Miss Versatility Series at Meadowlands Racetrack. She now holds the records for fastest three-year-old (1:51) and four-year-old female trotters in history.
She will try to make it two victories in a row when she meets six rivals in Friday’s second leg of the Ima Lula Series for four-year-old female trotters at the Meadowlands Racetrack.
Bee A Magician and regular driver Brian Sears will start from post one. The rest of the field in post order is Handover Belle, Rockin With Dewey, NF Happenstance, Ma Chere Hall, Mistery Woman, and Classic Martine.
Handover Belle won the Ima Lula’s first round on July 18 by a half-length over Ma Chere Hall in 1:51.4. The $55,000 estimated final is Aug. 2, Hambletonian Day.
Bee A Magician -- who has won 28 of 35 career races, finished second on four occasions, and earned $2.465 million -- was eligible to the John Cashman Jr. Memorial, but the mare’s connections decided against facing the boys. She raced against her male counterparts in the Hambletonian Maturity on July 5, finishing second to Your So Vain.
“I want to race her as easy as I can,” Norman said. “I’ll consider racing those horses again later in the year maybe, but not right now. You can’t be too tough on them. You see some of the other four-year-olds that have come back and are not what they were. It’s a tough thing to do because most of them have laid it all on the line last year.”
As it is, racing against the mares is difficult enough.
“It’s a tough division; very solid,” Norman said, adding about her 1:51.1 win in the most recent Miss Versatility round, “It was a good race. She didn’t jog, it was a good race.”
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.