Older pacing star Shamballa made his return to the track Friday after being sidelined with an infected foot, and judging by the mile time he's on the road to facing stakes competition once again.

Racing in a qualifier at Tioga Downs that resembled a time trial with the lack of competition, Shamballa and driver Scott Zeron sprinted home with a :54.2 back half off a :57.1 opening half to trip the timer in 1:51.3. The pacer's trainer and co-owner Rick Zeron told Trot Insider that the pacer was in fine form after the mile, "kicking and playing like a two-year-old." Zeron also gave a shoutout to Megan Scran and blacksmith Nick Clegg for their work to get Shamballa back to the track in such good shape.

Owned by Zeron with Cool Cat Racing, Howard Taylor and Brad Grant, Shamballa boasts a 24-8-9 summary from 68 career starts with earnings in excess of $942,000. Zeron stated previously that he's pointing Shamballa for the Roll With Joe at Tioga.