Good day for Norman at Magical Acres

Chesterfield, NJ — Nifty Norman had several reasons to smile after watching a small group of his 2-year-olds in harness racing qualifiers Wednesday at Magical Acres. And is often the case with qualifiers, winning was not a major part of the equation.

Norman did see one of his stable’s 2-year-olds pick up a victory. Female pacer Heartbreak Hotel, making her second qualifier start, posted a 1:55.3 triumph with Dexter Dunn in the sulky. The filly finished second last week, timed in 1:59.2.

Her clocking Wednesday equaled the second-fastest mile of the day for a 2-year-old.

“She was good,” Norman said. “We had to change her rigging a little bit because she was a little steppy last week, and she was much better today. She’s a nice filly, good mannered. We’ll see. We’ll find out.”

Heartbreak Hotel, by Sweet Lou out of Ontario star Love Canal, is owned by Let It Ride Stables and Bottom Line Racing. She was bred by Let It Ride Stables.

Another female pacer from Norman’s stable, Horizon, finished fourth in her qualifying debut for assistant trainer Carter Pinske and Dunn. She was timed in 1:57 in a race won by Wickedly Innocent in 1:55.1.

“We were really happy with her,” Norman said. “The filly has been a bit of a handful at home, hot and hard to train, but today was a real good experience for her. Even coming over here, she was relaxed. It was good.”

Horizon (Somebeachsomewhere-Live Entertainment) is from the family of two-time Dan Patch Award-winner See You At Peelers. She was purchased for $77,000 at the Lexington Selected Sale and is owned by Pinske Stables, Diamond Creek Racing, and Curly Tall Curly Small. She was bred by Diamond Creek Farm.

Male trotter Bully Boy Hill (Muscle Hill-Lauramarie Hill) just missed in his qualifying debut for Norman, finishing second by a neck to Global Daytrader S in 2:00.3. Bully Boy Hill closed with a :28.3 quarter, which was the day’s fastest for a 2-year-old trotter.

“I liked the way he got around the track and he finished up strong,” said Norman, who trains the colt for breeder-owner Tom Hill. “He was good.”

Norman, who also saw male trotter Player One (Cantab Hall-Powell Blue Chip) finish fourth in 2:02.1, has a total of 39 freshmen in his stable this summer.

“I’ve got some nice ones,” he said. “You’ve kind of got to go through the group to get some power. They’ll all find their own level soon enough. It’s a number’s game.”

Second-time winners among 2-year-olds Wednesday were Chris Ryder-trained male pacers Arsonist (Captaintreacherous-Candlelight Dinner) in 1:55.3 and Layton Hanover (Captaintreacherous-Livin Life) in 1:57.3 as well as male trotter Robertsin (Muscle Hill-Sina) in 1:59.4 for trainer Nik Drennan.

Remaining 2-year-old winners were:

Female pacers Little Cindy Lou (Sweet Lou-Cinderelaitsmidnit) for Tom Cancelliere, Wickedly Innocent (American Ideal-Miss Innocent) in 1:55.1 for Brett Pelling, and Smuggle Tina (Captaintreacherous-Terrortina) in 1:58.2 for Per Engblom.

Female trotters She’s A Scorcher (Chapter Seven-Chilitodayhotamale) in 2:00.4 for Linda Toscano, Creeation (Walner-Cree) in 2:01 for Trond Smedshammer, and Perfect Kelly (Trixton-Perfect Pearl) in 2:03.1 for Noel Daley.

Male trotter Global Daytrader S (Brillantissime-Pledge Allegiance) for Engblom.

Male pacers Pebble Beach (Downbytheseaside-Santa Rosa) in 1:59.1 for Daley and American Artist K (American Ideal-Artista K) in 1:58.3 for Aaron Lambert.

For complete charts from Magical Acres, click here.

by Ken Weingartner, for the USTA