Bee A Magician rallies to capture $680,000 Maple Leaf Trot at Mohawk Racetrack

CAMPBELLVILLE, Ont. — Bee A Magician overtook Resolve to capture the $680,000 Maple Leaf Trot at Mohawk Racetrack on Saturday night.

Resolve, the 7/5 favourite, took the lead in the final quarter-mile but Bee A Magician, the 2/1 second pick with driver Brian Sears, came on in deep stretch to claim the win in 1:52.3 on a fast track.

Bee A Magician, a five-year-old daughter of Kadabra, became the first mare to win this event since Peaceful Way in 2006.

Natural Herbie, who beat Bee A Magician in last weekend’s elimination race, was third in the 10-horse field.

Also on Saturday’s $2.7-million card — the second-richest this season at Mohawk — was the $700,000 Canadian Trotting Classic for three-year-olds — the country’s richest trotting event — and $404,000 Elegantimage Stakes for three-year-old fillies.

Earlier, 1/9 favourite Southwind Frank won the $373,000 William Wellwood Memorial for two-year-old colts and geldings in 1:55.4 while Caprice Hill, the 4/5 top pick, claimed the $410,000 Peaceful Way for two-year-old fillies in 1:56.1.

Also, recently retired trotter San Pail, which earned 52 wins — including three Maple Leaf Trot events — in 114 career starts for earnings exceeding $3 million, was honoured at Mohawk.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press