Round 2 of the Diplomat Pacing Series is set to go Saturday night at Woodbine Racetrack. In an interview after his opening-leg victory last week, Mcaracas' driver, Mario Baillargeon, discussed the race
and said that the McArdle colt is probably the best three-year-old he has ever driven.
Trained by Mario's brother, Ben, Mcaracas has drawn Post 4 in the Diplomat's lone $25,000 second-leg division, which has been carded as Race 7 (10:01 p.m.) on the 12-dash program. Woodbine's first-race post time on Saturday has been pushed back to 7:55 p.m. The $80,000 (est.) final is scheduled for Saturday, May 8.
Mcaracas, who will race as Head No. 3 and has been installed as the even-money morning line choice, will start to the inside of Jackets Required (HD#5, PP6, Ra. Waples, 7-5), who initially finished second last week but was placed back to seventh. The only other wagering option in the dash which is less than double digits odds on the morning line is the two-horse entry which consists of Legal Justice (HD#1, PP1, J. Moiseyev) and Top Gear (HD#1A, PP3, S. Filion). The entry has been set at early odds of 8-1.
In Mcaracas' opening-leg victory, Mario Baillargeon utilized a first-over move to acquire the lead in the second quarter of the race. After Baillargeon and Mcaracas made the lead, they were not pressured until after the opening half-mile of the race, which allowed the veteran pilot to get a good breather into his charge. From there, Baillargeon spurned an attacker on the final turn and opened up in the stretch en-route to an open-length win in 1:53.2.
In an interview afterward by Greg Blanchard of the Woodbine Entertainment Group, Baillargeon was asked if he was surprised that he was able to get such a soft opening half into his colt.
"Well there were only two colts in the race I think (Macaracas and Jackets Required, driven by Randy Waples)," Baillargeon explained. "Randy was in front in :28.3 and his horse started looking around. We got a little bit of a headwind down the backside. Thirty seconds (for the second quarter) seems slow, but it wasn't that bad of a quarter. Nobody challenged me to the three quarters, so I didn't want to use him. We have a long year, so it was a good race for him."
When asked what the colt's best attributes are, Mario echoed the same sentiment that Ben had previously. "His handiness," said Mario. "He's so versatile. He can leave in 26 seconds, 25 seconds, and he can go down to the half in a minute if you want from him."
Baillargeon was then asked whether Mcaracas, at this stage, can be compared to a stakes-type three-year-old which he owned in part last season, Bay Of Sharks. "I think this one is a better colt than Bay Of Sharks," he explained. "Bay Of Sharks had some issues, but this one, so far, is a sound horse. I think he has better gate speed, but we'll see down the road, but I think this is probably the best three-year-old I have ever driven."
Mcaracas has been assessed at odds of 85-1 in Trot Magazine 2010 Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book. "Oh yeah, there was something left," Baillargeon explained, in regard to Mcaracas' reserves coming home last weekend. "So like I said before, we're looking down the road with him. He's got the Burlington coming up and North America Cup and a few others. So far, cross our fingers, he's a great colt."
To view Saturday's harness racing entries at Woodbine Racetrack, click here.