Meadowlands: Haveoneforme looking to make a name for herself after lost year

Richard “Nifty” Norman is looking forward to watching his 3-year-old female trotters this season and is getting an early look at one of them that he didn’t get to see in action on the racetrack last year.

Haveoneforme was unraced at age 2 because of soundness issues. She made her career debut Jan. 25 and defeated a field of mostly older horses, both male and female, in a conditioned class at the Meadowlands. She returns to the same class Friday and is the 9-5 morning-line favorite from post eight with Dexter Dunn in the sulky.

She is among a group of 3-year-old fillies that has Norman feeling hopeful as he looks ahead to stakes season. Others in the stable are returning Grand Circuit winners Evident Beauty and Princess Deo as well as lightly raced Mother Bonnie. Princess Deo and Mother Bonnie were trained previously by Noel Daley, who returned home to Australia to continue his career at the end of last year.

“I’ve got a good group,” Norman said. “I’ve got a couple others that are just maidens but have got some talent I think. It’s good to have depth. Anytime you’ve got depth, you’re all right.”

Haveoneforme adds to that depth, although she might be pointed more toward restricted-stakes action in Ontario. The filly is a daughter of Kadabra out of All Filled Up. Her second dam, Filly At Bigs, and third dam Mombasa were O’Brien Award winners. The family also includes stakes-winners Big Rigs, Miss Tezsla, and Bridger.

“We trained her down last year and she got a bit sore,” said Norman, whose Enzed Racing Stable owns Haveoneforme with Mel Hartman. “She went through the July (Tattersalls Summer Mixed) sale and we bought her back. She is pretty good this year; no killer, but handy. I’m probably just going to stake her in Ontario. I think she could maybe do well up there.

“I liked her last year. She was nice enough, but she wasn’t sound. We just turned her out and gave her some time, let her grow up. She’s lovely to be around, has got a good head on her, and she is good gaited.”

Haveoneforme finished second in a qualifier prior to winning her debut in 1:58 on a 30-degree night at the Big M.

“I wasn’t sure if she had enough speed, but she actually showed good speed in her qualifier and her race,” Norman said. “I liked the way she finished up both times. I just wanted to race her a few times to see if she’s good enough to go to the next level. I’ll maybe give her three starts and then give her another break and get her ready for Ontario.”

Racing begins at 7:15 p.m. (EST) at the Meadowlands. Six-year-old Trolley, trained by Erv Miller and driven by Marcus Miller, is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the night’s Preferred Handicap for trotters. Trolley is 2-for-2 this year and has won five of his past six races dating back to November.

-Courtesy of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, please visit www.ustrotting.com