EAST
RUTHERFORD NJ – It took a while for the Bettor’s Delight mare Caviart Ally
($8.80) to find a way to defeat the season-long pacing mare divisional leader
Shartin N, but “Ally” was able to exploit the late-found knowledge for the
third time in recent weeks, just nosing out her ultimate rival in taking the
$175,000 TVG Mare Pace Final Saturday night at The Meadowlands in a
stakes-record 1:48.3.
Youaremycandygirl
made the early lead, then yielded to Kissin In The Sand before the :27.1
quarter. Shortly into the backstretch, the archrivals were on the move, with
Caviart Ally first coming from third to grab the lead before the half, then
yielding to 1-2 favorite Shartin N just past the :54.1 half. Apple Bottom Jeans
and three-year-old Warrawee Ubeaut were first- and second-over, respectively,
on the far turn past the 1:21.3 three-quarters, but in the stretch they
couldn’t come closer, giving Caviart Ally and driver Andrew McCarthy the chance
to vacate the pocket nearing midstretch.
The
stretch drive was harness racing at its best, with Shartin N giving her all to
hold her lead to the finish, with Caviart Ally charging after the two-hole
trip. Caviart Ally just got the nod in the last steps over her game opponent;
Kissin In The Sand (third-in) and Warrawee Ubeaut were next in line.
Trainer
Brett Pelling was confident that his mare would be better tonight than in her
last start, when she was a no-factor third behind Shartin N: “That race was a
late addition to our schedule; I was fairly sure she would bounce back.” Asked
about Caviart Ally returning to the track next year for the Caviart Farms, the
conditioner said, “Well, we haven’t talked about that yet, but my vote would be
yes.”
Caviart
Ally has nine wins and $672,215 in a season where she has not missed the board
in 19 starts. Shartin N needed to finish first to become the first pacing mare
to have consecutive $1 million seasons, but the defending champion’s $2,035,413
over the last two campaigns, with 34 wins, is by no means insignificant.
A
win by Shartin N, coupled with other finishes in the evening, might have
solidified Horse of the Year honors for her; she still could earn the award,
but Caviart Ally’s nose will make a long discussion of supremacy extend even
further.
