“I first drove him as a four-year-old after [trainer Ron Burke] bought him. He won in 1:50, and I thought, ‘Alright, there’s some talent there,’ but if anyone said then he’d go on to win more than $6 million, I would have figured they were crazy.”

Those are the words of driver Yannick Gingras, speaking about 10-year-old Foiled Again. Harness racing’s richest pacer will start from Post 4 Saturday night in Yonkers Raceway’s 11th race. The dash will be the fourth and final division of the second leg of the George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series.

Foiled Again looks like the strongest part of the Burke-trained entry which has been pegged at 3-5 on the morning line.

Foiled Again has a resume which reads 77 wins (including a pair of Levy titles), 49 seconds and 27 thirds ($6,055,968).

“I don’t think I fully appreciated the things he did when he was younger,” Gingras said. “To be associated with him has obviously been one of the highlights of my career. I’ve driven so many great horses, starting with ($2.9 million winner) Darlins Delight, but I’d be shocked if another Foiled Again comes along.

“What makes him so good? His heart. He’s not the biggest, he’s certainly not the fastest, but he knows exactly what he’s doing. Last week was the perfect example. I was loose-lining him until about halfway in the final turn. Then, he saw (Apprentice Hanover) coming and he swelled up. He knew it was time to go to work.

“He’s the same way on the farm. He sort of loafs along then all of a sudden, a 26-second final quarter.”

Not even the six-week Levy seems to faze Foiled Again. Is he Levy-proof? “He’s everything-proof,” Gingras said.

“I have to give Ronnie (Burke) so much credit. He sets a schedule for these horses, and they always make it. Sure, has can a tremendous stable (10 in the Levy series alone), but his program works. When the horses need time off, they get it. His horses last. Ten-year-olds are not supposed to do what Foiled Again is doing.”

This is not to suggest that ‘Foiled’ is flawless. He does have an Achilles Heel, or hoof, as the case may be.

“For whatever reason, he tends to tail off a bit in the summer. In June, July and August, he’s just not the same horse. I used to make the mistake of thinking that maybe he’s starting to slow down.

“I don’t make that mistake anymore.”

(With files from Yonkers)