With the whip tucked driver Tim Tetrick grabbed firm hold of the reins and implored Shartin N to keep pace through the stretch as Caviart Ally shot-gunned from the pocket and stuck a nose in front on the wire to win the $175,000 TVG Mare Pace Final on Saturday, Nov. 23 at the Meadowlands.

Kissin In The Sand took the field to the first quarter in :27.1 but yielded command through the backside as Caviart Ally dashed uncovered from fourth to the lead with Shartin N on her back. Caviart Ally eventually let Shartin N cross to the front but still strung out champion mare to a :54.1 and rode Tetrick’s helmet to three-quarters in 1:21.3.

Tetrick promptly called upon his mare into the stretch. Shartin N clung to control as Caviart Ally drew closer alongside nearing the final sixteenth. The pair matched strides in the final yards until Caviart Ally overpowered the 1-2 favourite and win in 1:48.3. Kissin In The Sand finished third with Warrawee Ubeaut fourth.

“We were both trying to figure out what we were doing there,” driver Andrew McCarthy said after the race. “I was actually looking to land fourth and come first over. I wanted [Tetrick] to move but the way it worked out he wanted me in front of him. It worked out okay—I got to move getting out of the first turn there and she felt terrific tonight. [We] paced :27 that second quarter but I wanted to get [Shartin] marching a little bit because if you turn Shartin loose too easily she’s too hard to catch.”

A five-year-old mare by Bettors Delight, Caviart Ally won her ninth race from 19 starts this season and her 25th from 72 overall, earning $1,828,016 for owner Caviart Farms. Shartin N meanwhile will ready for a seven-year-old campaign while Caviart Ally’s future remains in question.

“When she’s fit and when she’s leaned up a bit she’s such a great-going mare,” trainer Brett Pelling said after the race. “I hope [she comes back next year]. I haven’t had a definitive answer. It’d be a shame not to [bring her back]. She’s at the top of her game and we get along well. I’d hate not to see her in the stall.”

Caviart Ally paid $8.80 to win.