Mohawk: Bee A Magician, Shake It Cerry dominant in Armbro Flight elims

Bee A Magician set a Canadian record in her return to Mohawk Racetrack Friday night for the Armbro Flight eliminations.

A fantastic group of 17 older trotting mares were split into two $35,000 eliminations to qualify for the $272,000 Armbro Flight final.

Bee A Magician, the 2013 Horse of the Year, headlined the first elimination and continued her impressive 5-year-old season with a Canadian and track record performance of 1:51 1/5.

Driven by Brian Sears, Bee A Magician got away in fourth and sat in that spot through the opening-half. Around the final turn, Sears sent the Richard ‘Nifty’ Norman trainee first up to challenge the leader Handover Belle and edged ahead to the lead at the three-quarter pole in 1:23 4/5.

In the stretch, Bee A Magician trotted home effortlessly in 27 2/5 to win by four lengths and establish a new Canadian and track record.

Classic Martine finished second, while Allie Labrook was third.

“I was really happy with the way things worked out,” said Sears following the race. “She was really good tonight scoring down and I think the cool weather might have helped her a little bit too.”

Bee A Magician has now won five of six starts this year. All six of her starts have been made over the course of the last 41 days, but Sears said that didn’t show Friday night.

“She was razor-sharp tonight, I was really happy with her,” said Sears.

A daughter of Kadabra, Bee A Magician now has 36 career victories and added to her bankroll of over $3 million.

The clocking of 1:51 1/5 erased the former track record of 1:51 4/5 set by Perfect Alliance in last year’s Armbro Flight final. Perfect Alliance also set the former Canadian record of 1:51 2/5 in May last year at Woodbine.

A graduate of the Ontario Sires Stakes program, Bee A Magician has now won 15 of 17 career starts at Mohawk. She returned $2.80 to win.

The second elimination saw another heavy favorite visit the winner’s circle.

Shake It Cerry extended her win streak to three in a row with a 1:52 4/5 victory. Driven by Yannick Gingras, Shake It Cerry made a second-quarter move from fourth to take the lead at the half in 56 1/5.

After reaching the three-quarter pole in 1:24 4/5, Shake It Cerry pulled away from her rivals in the lane and trotted home under no urging from Gingras in 28 for a 2 3/4 length victory.

Rockin With Dewey finished second, while Bax Of Life got up for third. Charmed Life and Frau Blucher rounded out the top-five to advance to the final.

Following the race, Gingras talked about a pending matchup with Bee A Magician.

“Bee A Magician is tough and she’s a great mare,” said Gingras. “She won just as easy as myself, so it’s going to be a great matchup.”

A 4-year-old daughter of Donato Hanover, Shake It Cerry is trained by Jimmy Takter for the Solveig Racing Partners. She now has three wins from six starts this season and 26 in her career.

Shake It Cerry’s career earnings sit at over $2.1 million. She paid $2.60 to win.

The Armbro Flight final will take place next Saturday (June 20) as part of the Pepsi North America Cup card.

The post positions for the final were drawn following the eliminations. Here is how they will lineup in the C$272,000 final.

1. Bax Of Life
2. Classic Martine
3. Shake It Cerry
4. Rockin With Dewey
5. Bee A Magician
6. Charmed Life
7. Frau Blucher
8. Harley Momma
9. Handover Belle
10. Allie Labrook
AE: White Becomes Her

-edited release (WEG)