Canadian connections made their presence felt early on in the Hambletonian Day program, with Ontario-sired Poof Shes Gone capturing the $525,800 Merrie Annabelle for two-year-old trotting fillies on Saturday afternoon at the Meadowlands
.
With three fillies making early breaks, the race quickly turned into a seven horse event. Bone A Fide (Yannick Gingras) used rail position to achieve the early lead but felt immediate pressure from Ipo Blue Chip (Andy Miller) through the :28.1 first quarter. Ipo Blue Chip was able to clear before the :56.2 half but the lead was short-lived as Ron Pierce had Costa Rica out for a quick brush to the front, making the front in a 1:26 three-quarter time.
David Miller had Poof Shes Gone set up second over at this point and as the field hit the stretch she lived up to her name, closing from fifth to hit the wire three-quarters of a length ahead of Costa Rica in a stakes record equaling 1:55.1. Bone A Fide held for third with favoured Cantab It All (John Campbell) suffering her first defeat to finish fourth.
The time of the mile equaled the stakes record set by the great CR Kay Suzie (1994) and equaled by Miss Wisconsin (2005).
"We planned to race her off cover this week," said Miller after the race. "I was a bit nervous about Ron getting away from me around the final turn but my filly loves chasing horses down. She's pretty mature mentally and she had the right attitude right from the start."
Poof Shes Gone (Kadabra - Travelin Superlite) was bred by Tara Hills Stud Farm and is owned by Melvin Hartman, Ottawa, ON, Herb Liverman, Miami Beach, FL, David MC Duffee, Nashua, NH and John Fielding, Toronto, ON.
John Fielding, who missed last week's elimination races, told Bob Heyden that he "wouldn't miss today for the world - this is what it's all about.
"Nifty [Norman] said training down that she was pretty special and she showed today that she's got the right stuff."
Stay tuned to the SC website for full coverage of harness racing's Hambletonian Day at the Meadowlands.
To view the results, click here.