2013 Horse of the
Year romps over the top males.
EAST RUTHERFORD (May 9, 2015) – If the first two
starts of her 2015 campaign are any indication, Bee A Magician will be a force
to be reckoned with once again. On Saturday night at The Meadowlands, she
not only defeated the boys in the $50,000 prep for the Arthur J. Cutler
Memorial, she destroyed them.
Escaping at 12-1, despite coming off a
track record performance at Yonkers, Bee A Magician was dismissed by the
punters from post position 10. Off the gate, Zeron asked his champion
mare for a little speed, but his plan wasn’t to make the lead. “I figured
we would float out there and I would try to set her up second or third over,”
said Zeron, “but nobody else really pushed out there, so she brought me to the
top rather easily and then we let Yannick go, sat behind him and that was
perfect.”
Bee A Magician did lead at the first
point of call, which she reached in 27.4, but she would relinquish that lead to
DW’s NY Yank, who briefly went off-stride at the start. The Burke-trainee
entered tonight riding a four race win streak and he would lead the field past
the half-mile in 55.4. Meanwhile. The even money favorite, Melady’s Monet
was taken back off the speed and would commit first over as the field moved
down the backstretch. Hambletonian Winner Market Share would ride his
cover around the far turn. Bee A Magician continued to draft in the
pocket behind the leader past three quarters in 1:24.3. But from there,
the mare made her move. “She pulled me out of the pocket,” added Zeron.
“She wanted to go and once she made the lead she kicked in even more.”
Bee A Magician opened up daylight in the stretch and was a geared down and
ultra-impressive winner in 1:51.3. Wind Of The North rallied well to
finish second, with Melady’s Monet holding onto third despite a tough first
over trip.
In 2013, Bee A Magician completed an
undefeated campaign, that included a Hambletonian Oaks win. That campaign
led to her being voted the Horse of the Year. She will look to become the
first mare to win the Arthur J. Cutler Memorial in the 17-year history of the
race in the $175,000 Final on Saturday, May 16th. The
magnificent mare is owned by Melvin Hartman, Marvin Katz and David Mc Duffee
and trained by Nifty Norman. For Queen Bee, it was her 33rd
victory from 49 starts. Her earnings continue to close in on $2.8
Million. The win capped off a big night for Scott Zeron, who won four
races on the card.
Earlier on the racing program, the top
pacers contested the $27,500 Open Handicap which was scratched down to a field
of six. Newcomer Ellis Park was a 9/5 favorite at post time, but both
Dovuto Hanover and Doctor Butch were not far behind in the pari-mutuel
wagering. Doctor Butch was asked for speed off the gate and would be
guided to a pocket spot behind Fool Me Once who would lead the field for the
first three quarters of a mile, establishing fractions of 26.2, 54.2 and 1:21.2
but the lead would not last the length of the stretch as the field closed in,
none more so than Doctor Butch. The five year old son of Art Major ripped
out of the pocket in the stretch and scampered away from the field to win
impressively in 1:48.1, establishing a new lifetime mark and sending his
lifetime earnings past $900,000. Dovuto Hanover rallied from off the pace
to finish second, while Ellis Park, who roughed it first over, held on for
third.
Doctor Butch won for the 23rd
time in his career for Linda Toscano and Kenneth Jacobs and was driven to
victory by his usual partner in the sulky, Tim Tetrick.
In other action, Rock Of The Ages scored
a victory over a trio of Meadowlands Pace-eligibles, winning in 1:51 for Brett
Miller. Trading Up, Sicily and Jo Pa’s Well Said, all on the road to The
Meadowlands Pace finished behind the 7-1 upset winner.
Tony Alagna had a good night on Saturday
at The Meadowlands. In addition to his Trading Up finishing second in his
three year old debut, he won a pair of races with Shades Of Bay and Odds On
Equuleus, both with Scott Zeron in the sulky. The former is a Meadowlands
Pace-eligible colt who was making his three year old debut. He was
victorious in a very sharp 1:50.3. The Meadowlands Pace theme would
continue in the very next race, as Edward Teach, another Pace-eligible colt
scored in a condition event in a lifetime best 1:51 for the Burke/Gingras connection.
Art History won for the third
consecutive time, taking a tough condition even in 1:51.1 capping what was a
very good night for Scott Zeron.
There were two winning tickets in the
fifth race Jackpot Super Hi-5, so that jackpot pool carried over once again and
will feature a $112,844 carryover into Friday night. The last race
jackpot also went unclaimed and that carryover will be $87,837 into the Friday
program.
The handle of just over $2.8 Million was virtually flat compared
to this night in 2014, with one less race.
Racing returns on Friday which features the New Jersey Sire Stakes
for thee year old trotters and the eagerly anticipated three year old debut of
Mission Brief. Post time is 7:15 P.M.
