Foiled Again is back. The record-setting pacer, now an 11-year-old, qualified for the first time this season, winning in 1:54.3 Saturday morning at the Meadowlands Racetrack with Yannick Gingras in the bike for trainer Ron Burke.
Gingras and Foiled Again were fifth in the eight-horse field through the first half of the race, moved into fourth at three-quarters, and came home in :26.2 to win by a neck over Aslan.
Foiled Again is the richest horse in harness racing history, with $6.90 million in U.S. earnings for his career. The gelding is preparing for the upcoming George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series at Yonkers Raceway.
“He was very good,” Gingras said. “He went nice and easy. We just sat in the back and let him pace home. He felt really good and he had a lot of pace in the stretch.
“He feels no different [than previous years]. He’s still enjoying his work. The minute he went behind the gate he grabbed on the bit and knew what it was about. He was happy to be there.”
Last year, Foiled Again won six of 26 races and hit the board a total of 19 times on his way to purses of $863,563 (U.S.). His earnings ranked No. 2 among all older pacers in North America, trailing only now-retired former stablemate Sweet Lou. Foiled Again received Dan Patch Awards for best older male pacer in 2011, 2012 and 2013. He was U.S. Pacer of the Year in 2011. He also O'Brien Awards for best older male pacer in Canada in 2011 and 2013.
Foiled Again has won 83 of 224 lifetime starts and posted a total of 171 top-three finishes. He is owned by the Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi LLC and JJK Stables.
Double millionaire pacer Clear Vision also won his 2015 qualifying debut for the Burke barn. Gingras pulled him from the pocket into the stretch and Clear Vision out-sprinted leader Lucan Hanover with a :26.2 final panel to win by a nose in 1:55.4. Mach It So, meanwhile, sprinted a :25.4 closing quarter to come within a half-length of the top two.
Four-time Dan Patch and O'Brien Award-winning older female pacer Anndrovette finished second by a neck to Scott DiDomenico’s Scandalicious in her first qualifying action of the campaign. The time was 1:54.2, with Anndrovette pacing the final quarter in a race-best :28.1. Anndrovette, trained by Jeff Bamond Jr., is preparing for the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series at Yonkers.
Modest Prince, a five-year-old trotter from the stable of trainer Linda Toscano, won his qualifier in 1:54.1 with a final quarter in :26.1. Julie Miller’s Sevruga was second, beaten by three lengths.
For complete charts of Saturday’s qualifiers at the Meadowlands, click here.
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.