She beat the gate, then beat her foes, both with the greatest of ease.
Caviart Cherie (Jordan Stratton, $20.20) offered an eight-hole tour de force Monday night, winning Yonkers Raceway’s $62,000 final of the Petticoat Pacing Series.
There wasn’t much to the finale, which wrapped a four-week series for three- and four-year-old lasses who are/were non-winners of four races and/or $40,000 through last Dec. 1st. All finalists were four-year-olds.
Caviart Cherie, one of four ladies who had won twice in the prelims, quickly negated the ill-effects of an open-draw impost.
Leaving with the speed of a runner, Caviart Cherie hurdled the field early in the first turn. While doing so, she looped 4-5 favourite Diamondtoothgertie (George Brennan), that one eventually finding a seat fourth.
Caviart Cherie threw it down, as a :26.4 opening quarter-mile and :55.2 intermission. Chasing from a loose pocket was JK Jazzitup (Mark MacDonald), with Gotthisone Hanover (Yannick Gingras) away third.
Diamondtoothgertie moved from fourth, but never came within shouting distance of Caviart Cherie. After a 1:23.3 three-quarters, the lead was three lengths entering the lane.
The final margin was a length-and-a-half in a season’s-best 1:54. Second went to JK Jazzitup, with Diamondtoothgertie salvaging the bottom of the ticket. Dali Delight (Dan Dube), coupled with JK Jazzitup, and Absolutely Best (Jason Bartlett) settled for the minors.
D Gs Elsa (Eric Goodell), Gotthisone Hanover and Lusty Delight (Greg Merton) completed the order.
For third choice Caviart Cherie, a daughter of Well Said owned by Joe P Racing and trained by Matias Ruiz, it was her seventh win (with three seconds) in 11 seasonal starts.
“She overcame the eight-hole,” was Stratton’s succinct post-mortem.
“A shout-out to Matt Kakaley, who drove her very well,” Scott Pennacchio, son of Joe P Racing principal Joseph Pennacchio, said. “He gets a lot of the credit, and we hope he’s back soon.”
A $30,000 series consolation was won by favoured Pull The Shade (Scott Zeron, $5.70) in 1:55.3, matching her week-old, life-best effort.
(Yonkers)