from Harness Racing Communications, a division of the USTA

Freehold, NJ — Trainer Mark Harder had high hopes for female pacer Cuz She Can before seeing the horse’s 3-year-old season cut short by pneumonia. Cuz She Can returned to the races last month, and with two straight wins, including one in the opening round of the Cape & Cutter series at the Meadowlands, might be out to prove she still can get the job done.

Cuz She Can won by a nose in 1:52.2 over Away We Go in one of two Cape & Cutter divisions on February 6. The field also included Guestimate, Glory Bee, Knock Three Times, Ideal Weather, and Ridge Jumper. Enhance The Night, another mare trained by Harder, won the other division by 1-1/2 lengths over Go On BB in 1:51.2. The field included Martha Maxine, Mind Boggling, Ideal Nectarine, Sportsfancy, and Chancey Lady.

A daughter of Cambest-Second Symphony, the 4-year-old Cuz She Can has won eight of 17 career races and earned $193,498. Last year, she won a division of the Helen Dancer and was third in Happy Dreamer’s world-record mile in a division of the Tarport Hap. She became ill prior to the Mistletoe Shalee eliminations.

“It was touch and go for her last year when she got sick,” Harder said. “She’s done a good job to get back to even where she is. (Pneumonia) can ruin their lungs where they can’t take any stress, but she’s bounced back. I think she’s pretty close to a hundred percent. She’s a Cambest and they seem to get better as they go on. We’ve got our fingers crossed.”

Cuz She Can is the most lightly raced horse among those that competed in the Cape & Cutter’s first round. No other mare has made fewer than 30 lifetime starts and most have at least 50.

“That’s tough for a young horse; she’s at a disadvantage,” Harder said. “But she’s got a lot of class. That takes her a long way. Last year was very disappointing. I thought she was one of the top three 3-year-old fillies, but it’s one of those things you’ve got to roll with.”

The Cape & Cutter series continues on February 13 and concludes on February 20.