Top aged pacing prospects Caviart Ally and Sintra went tightening miles in the qualifying sessions prior to the Saturday (Feb. 29) race card at the Meadowlands.
Caviart Ally rose to prominence last season for her rivalry with U.S. Horse of the Year Shartin N and eventually began to defeat the world champion, culminating into an upset in the Breeders Crown Mare Pace at Woodbine Mohawk Park that lead to her receiving the honour of O’Brien Pacing Mare of the Year. On Saturday the now six-year-old daughter of Bettors Delight and driver Andrew McCarthy strode to a 1:52.3 qualifying win with a :27.2 final quarter over Seaswift Joy N. The Brett Pelling trainee, competing for owner Caviart Farms, is currently on track to race in the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series which starts at Yonkers Raceway on March 13.
Sintra, who returned to the races off a seven-month layoff at the start of January and proceeded to win four straight in the Preferred class at Mohawk, made his first steps onto a racetrack in just over a month. The seven-year-old Mach Three gelding shipped into the Ron Burke barn for owners Michael Guerriero, Kelly Waxman, Nunzio Vena and Frank Cirillo and rolled first over in his qualifier with a :27 final quarter to a 1:52 win in rein to Yannick Gingras. Sintra’s qualifying effort comes just a few weeks before the start of the MGM Borgata Series (formerly the George Morton Levy Memorial Series) at Yonkers Raceway on March 14.