by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications
Freehold, NJ — Winning races might be in Caviart Ally’s blood and there could be no more appropriate time for the 2-year-old female pacer to get her first open stakes victory than Saturday’s C$427,000 Three Diamonds Stakes at Woodbine.
After all, Three Diamonds is in her blood too.
Caviart Ally hails from a family of stakes winners, starting with half-brother All Speed Hanover and half-sister Allamerican Coed. Dam Allamerican Cool is a half-sister to Hall of Fame mare Eternal Camnation and Caviart Ally’s fourth dam is Hall of Fame mare Three Diamonds. The family also includes stakes-winners Life Sign and Threefold, who were both out of Three Diamonds.
“I think it’s sort of cool that she’s in this race,” said owner Buck Chaffee, referring to Caviart Ally’s connection to Three Diamonds. “We buy yearling fillies to become broodmares. She had just a great family, really deep. We picked her out because of the breeding and we’re just really happy that she’s developed into a nice racehorse.”
Chaffee and his wife Judy own Caviart Farms, a 230-acre breeding and boarding facility in Paris, Ky., and have enjoyed their share of success over the years, most notably with multiple-stakes-winner Caviart Sydney.
Caviart Farms purchased Caviart Ally, whose sire is Bettor’s Delight, under the name Airlie Hanover for $35,000 at last fall’s Standardbred Horse Sale.
“It’s just really nice to have one at this level,” Chaffee said.
Caviart Ally heads to the Three Diamonds off a win in her elimination last Friday at Woodbine. Caviart Ally won by a half-length over That’s The Ticket in 1:54.3 with Andy McCarthy driving for trainer Noel Daley.
In her previous start, Caviart Ally finished second by a neck to Breeders Crown winner Someomensomewhere in the Kindergarten Classic Series championship at the Meadowlands. It was Caviart Ally’s fourth second-place finish in a span of five starts, with none of the setbacks coming by more than a half-length.
For the year, Caviart Ally has won two of 13 races, hit the board a total of nine times, and earned $110,479.
“We’ve liked her from the beginning,” Chaffee said. “She trained down super. Her first (qualifier) she raced really great. She came the last quarter in :25.4, just really strong. We didn’t know if she was going to be able to race at the top level or not, but we thought she was going to be a good horse.
“But we knew it was going to take her a little while. She was a late foal, she’s a June foal, so we tried to give her as much time as we could to let her develop. She’s really come on recently. She got a little sick in the middle of the year and had a couple of bad races, but other than that she’s been right there. We’re just happy that now she’s gotten to compete against some really nice fillies.”
Caviart Ally was eligible to the Breeders Crown, but her connections decided to skip the event.
“We didn’t think she was quite ready,” Chaffee said. “In retrospect, that might have been a mistake on our part. But maybe it turned out for the better, too, because she’s still pretty fresh and racing well. Next year she’s staked to all the big races and we’re looking forward to that as well.”
Idyllic Beach won the other Three Diamonds elimination by a neck over Someomensomewhere in 1:55.3. In September, Idyllic Beach won the She’s A Great Lady Stakes at Mohawk.
Saturday’s Woodbine card also includes the C$520,000 Governor’s Cup for 2-year-old male pacers, C$447,000 Goldsmith Maid for 2-year-old female trotters and C$404,000 Valley Victory for 2-year-old male trotters.
The Governor’s Cup features the top three finishes from the Breeders Crown — Huntsville, Downbytheseaside, and Miso Fast. Eliminations were unnecessary for the Governor’s Cup and Goldsmith Maid. Snowstorm Hanover and Jake won eliminations for the Valley Victory.
Complete entries for the races may be found at this link.
- Governor’s Cup headlines Fall Four finals (Tuesday, November 15, 2016)
The 2016 Woodbine Entertainment Group stakes season will come to a close Saturday night (Nov. 19) at Woodbine Racetrack with nearly C$1.8 million on the line in the Fall Four.
- Fall Four stakes in Grand Circuit spotlight (Wednesday, November 16, 2016)
The Grand Circuit returns to Woodbine Racetrack on Saturday (Nov. 19) with the Fall Four finals for 2-year-old pacers and trotters. On tap will be the C$520,000 Governor’s Cup for pacing colts, the C$447,000 Goldsmith Maid for filly trotters, the C$427,000 Three Diamonds for pacing fillies and the C$404,000 Valley Victory for colt trotters.
- Huntsville looks to finish strong in Governor’s Cup (Thursday, November 17, 2016)
Going for his seventh consecutive win in his 11th start of the season, Huntsville headlines the C$520,000 Governor’s Cup final on Saturday night (Nov. 19) at Woodbine Racetrack. The homebred Somebeachsomewhere-Wild West Show colt for owner/trainer Ray Schnittker and Charles Iannazzo, as well as partners Steven Arnold and Ted Gewertz, has amassed $603,234 in earnings this season. He also tied a world record with a mark of 1:49 at The Red Mile in a division of the International Stallion Stakes.
- Downbytheseaside wins with authority in Governor’s Cup (Saturday, November 19, 2016)
Downbytheseaside got one back on rival Huntsville Saturday night (Nov. 19) in the C$520,000 Governor’s Cup at Woodbine Racetrack. The Brian Brown trained colt delivered a powerful performance to win the final major race of the season for 2-year-olds in 1:51.1.
- That’s The Ticket, Magic Presto take Three Diamonds and Goldsmith Maid (Saturday, November 19, 2016)
That’s The Ticket charged home to win the C$427,000 Three Diamonds for 2-year-old pacing fillies at odds of 5-1 Saturday night (Nov. 19) at Woodbine Racetrack. The Chris Ryder trained pacing filly was able to convert off a perfect third-over trip from driver David Miller for her second win in 14 starts.Sent off the 5-2 second choice, Magic Presto sat a pocket trip to 3-5 favorite Princess Aurora before edging off the pylons in the stretch and sweeping to a 1:55.4 victory in the C$447,000 Goldsmith Maid final
- Snowstorm Hanover blasts rivals in Valley Victory (Sunday, November 20, 2016)
Snowstorm Hanover grabbed control early in the mile and coasted around the Woodbine oval to a 1:55.1 win as the 7-5 public choice in the C$404,000 Valley Victory final on Saturday evening (Nov. 19).