The lucrative weekly features return to Yonkers Raceway on June 23 as the filly and mare open headlines the Tuesday night program. Major Occasion is the 9-5 morning line favourite in the $33,000 feature after drawing Post 4 off of an impressive mile last time out at the Meadowlands Racetrack.
Major Occasion made her first start post-coronavirus shutdown in the filly and mare preferred at the Meadowlands Racetrack on June 5. While Grand Circuit performer Kissin In The Sand played catch me if you can, and won, Major Occasion made it close. Major Occasion raced on the inside in fifth, five lengths behind Kissin In The Sand throughout before closing in the stretch with a :25.3 final quarter. Kissin In The Sand had an open-length lead at the sixteenth pole, but Major Occasion lunged under Dexter Dunn urging, and closed within three-quarters of a length at the finish.
The effort surprised both the bettors who dismissed Major Occasion at 17-1 and trainer Nifty Norman, who thought Major Occasion would need a start having just one qualifier on May 30 since her last race March 4.
“She was very good. I was pleased,” Norman said. “It was like having a win there racing against that calibre of horse and she was good and strong through the wire, too. I was really happy with the way she finished up. She’s a really nice mare.
“I thought she was probably going to be a run short and she went even better than I expected,” Norman continued. “She’s been a real pleasant surprise since she came over. She’s been good every start, really, so I’ve been really happy with her.”
Although Major Occasion was individually clocked in a blistering 1:48 in her runner-up effort, Norman tries to avoid obsessing over the timer.
“We’re seeing a lot of it now. The Meadowlands, the miles they go there are crazy. It doesn’t even pay to look at the clock anymore because it’s just crazy what they’re doing,” he said. “Now '48' is just acceptable, no one even talks about it; it’s commonplace to go 48, which is just amazing.”
Major Occasion is a six-year-old Art Major daughter out of the Fake Left mare Fake Occasion. The Australia-bred was a stakes performer before exporting to the United States last October, having won the Group 2 Sibelia Stakes at Menangle on February 16, 2019 before finishing second in the Group 1 Ladyship Mile a fortnight later. Major Occasion also finished second in the Group 1 Empire Vicbred Two-Year-Old Fillies Stakes at Melton in 2017.
“I had some owners that wanted to buy the mare and she really wasn’t for sale,” Norman recalled. “I got talking to the owners and we just hit it off really good, ended up having several conversations with them. The trainer (Chris Frisby) and the owner (Peter Ward) are just really top guys. They decided to send her over to me and it’s working out great for me and for them.”
Norman heard from many Down Under horsemen that Major Occasion was a good mare and when she arrived stateside. Norman could see why.
“When she arrived, she was such a specimen,” he said. “She’s an absolutely beautiful, big, strong, good-looking thing, fantastic nature and when you sit behind her, it’s like sitting behind a bus. There’s nothing bad about her. She’s nice to look at, she’s nice to drive, she’s nice to be around. She’s just a perfect horse.
“She’s a big mare, but she’s well put together,” Norman continued. “She’s got good conformation; she’s an Art Major, so Art Major’s are pretty good-looking. She carries a lot of weight, wears a big hopple, just impressive to look at.”
Major Occasion made seven starts for Norman and owner Enzed Racing Stable before the shutdown, as she notched three wins and a lifetime mark of 1:49.4. She came within a neck of Shartin in a $50,000 filly and mare invitational at Dover Downs on March 4. Major Occasion, an 18-time winner and earner of $241,105, was then entered into the first leg of the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series on March 13, which was indefinitely postponed as the coronavirus ceased harness racing in North America.
“It was very tricky to manage. The hard part was, there were rumours that we would get going, so you’d go train your horses up a little bit thinking maybe we’re going to race in two weeks,” Norman said. “It dragged on and on. I kind of wished I had turned the horses out since owners were paying bills while nothing was happening and they had no money coming in.
“It was a difficult period, but I basically backed off, didn’t do a whole lot with them, just tried to keep them fit,” Norman continued. “You could tell the horses were getting sour like us. They were ready to get back to work, too. They were sick of just training, and training, and training. It was a strange time. I don’t think anyone really knew what the right thing was to do.”
Major Occasion will make her second start post-shutdown in Tuesday’s feature and regular driver Dexter Dunn will be in the sulky. With the fate of Yonkers’ winter series still uncertain, and with no distaff feature carded at 'the Swamp' since June 5, Norman chose to test Major Occasion over the smaller track at Yonkers.
“I elected to go to Yonkers and find out whether she can get around there. Obviously, she’s great at the Meadowlands, but going 1:48 every week isn’t the greatest plan, either,” Norman said. “I thought I would try to avoid those big miles, try her on a shorter track and see how she handles it. I trained her on a half-mile track and she got around it [well]. She runs in a little bit, but most horses do. I don’t have any concerns, I think she’ll be fine.”
Major Occasion will face seven rivals in the Tuesday feature, including three who exit the same race: Snobbytown, Imprincessgemma, and Gold Orchid.
Snobbytown finished ninth last time out, but earned $150,635 last year for trainer Ron Burke and won the local distaff feature on February 28. She is the 3-1 second choice on the morning line and will employ the driving services of George Brennan. Imprincessgemma won the local filly and mare open handicap impressively by two and three-quarter lengths on February 14 and was second in the feature the following week. She is 9-2 on the morning line for the Bongiornos. Gold Orchid earned $120,170 last year for Mark Harder, won the local filly and mare preferred on March 6, and will make her third start of the season. She and driver Brian Sears are 6-1 on the morning line.
The field also includes Diamondtoothgertie, Sandy Win, Crystal Sparkles, and Dibaba.
“I think, like a lot of foreign horses, [Major Occasion] is better with a target,” Norman said. “She could come first-up or she’s got good speed on the end, too -- it wouldn’t matter if she came from off the pace. I’d imagine Dexter, since he’s coming over to drive her, is going to be reasonably aggressive. I’ll leave it up to him.”
The amended Yonkers Raceway calendar will see live harness racing conducted Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights until July 2. Beginning the week of July 6, the schedule will add Friday nights. Saturday night racing will resume the week of July 20 as the track returns to its normal five-night-per-week schedule through December 19. First post time is at 7:05 p.m.
(SOA of NY)