Older pacing star Mach It So is ready for his 2017 pari-mutuel debut next week after another solid qualifying mile Saturday morning at The Meadowlands.
The seven-year-old Mach Three - Beach Dancer millionaire, in rein to Kyle Husted, was on top at every call en route to a 1:54.4 mile. While that time was slower than his 1:54 qualifier one week prior, the judges allowed two seconds and trainer/co-owner Jeff Bamond wasn't concerned.
"I was happy with him," Bamond told Trot Insider. "[He] finished up good, cold and windy conditions so that was a good mile today and he's going to the Levy next weekend."
Mach It So won three legs of the Levy in 2016 and finished second in another before drawing the seven hole in the Final and finishing out of the money. In the three years that Mach It So has raced as an older competitor, he's qualified for the Levy final in all three and drawn as poorly as one could imagine. In the past two years, Mach It So has drawn post seven. In 2014, he had the eight hole.
Team Bamond is no stranger to Levy success, however, as that 2014 edition of the race was captured by Mach It So's stablemate P H Supercam. These two pacers are two of 40 eligible to this year's edition of the lucrative pacing series, with preliminaries beginning next Saturday, March, 18 and each race in each leg worth $50,000.
Bamond also has pacing mare Krispy Apple as one of 28 eligible to the Blue Chip Matchmaker. That series, also with five prelim legs (at $40,000 per race), begins next Friday, March 17.