WILKES-BARRE PA – Caviart Ally and Agent Q both posted their second victories in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes competition for harness racing three-year-old pacing fillies, winning their divisions of the third preliminary leg Saturday night at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
Caviart Ally, who jumped into the national consciousness with her 196-1 second behind Agent Q in the Lynch Championship here at Pocono on July 1, here brushed to the lead with a 26.2 buzz down the backstretch for driver Andrew McCarthy, then held off a late charge from Way Bettor, in her first Sire Stakes start for Hall of Fame trainer Bob McIntosh, by a neck in 1:51, knocking a second off her lifetime mark, with Inverse Hanover another ¾ of a length back in third.
The victorious daughter of Bettor's Delight broke in the first Sires leg, her seasonal debut, then won in her second Sires start at The Meadows. With this victory she now has a career bankroll of $324,075 for trainer Noel Daley and Caviart Farms.
Agent Q won her initial Sire Stakes outing at Philly, then skipped the second leg to try the Fan Hanover fillies at Mohawk, where she missed a nose in the final. But since that photo setback the Western Terror filly has not lost, posting victories in her Lynch elim and the Championship, the Mistletoe Shalee, and on Saturday a 1:50.4 triumph. She was moved to the lead past the ¼ by driver Scott Zeron and defeated early leader Bettors Up by 1¾ lengths, with 2016 North American champion Idyllic Beach another ¾ of a length back in third.
Aaron Lambert is the trainer of the consistent and fast miss (19-9-9-0 in her career), with earnings of $853,679 for Martin Scharf, Rochetti Cassar Racing, and Robert Muscara.
After three prelims, Inverse Hanover and tonight's two winners have firmly established themselves atop the pointwinners ladder, with Inverse Hanover's third added to a second and first to put her atop with 75 points, one ahead of Caviart Ally, with Agent Q at 70. The real donnybrook in the division's final prelim at The Meadows on August 26 will be horses trying to make a big showing to get into the rich Championship race, with the eighth (and final for the Championship) pointwinner now with 35 points – and no fewer than 12 others currently within ten points (a fourth-place finish)!
The $20,000 overnight pacing feature saw the turnaround story of Mr Julian complete another successful chapter, as the son of I Scoot Hanover moved to the lead after a 26.1 quarter by Major Uptrend, posted middle splits of 53.3 and 1:21.2, and then hold off the potential pocket rocket by a neck in 1:50.1. Trainer Jason Johnson, who owns the horse as Jason L. Johnson Inc., claimed the horse for $7500 at The Meadowlands on June 23, lost him to a $7500 claim on July 1, went right back in to get him for $7500 on July 8, then saw him blast off in class, continuing his recent record to 8-7-1-0-$37,287 – after the five-year-old had earned $75,930 in his first 84 trips behind the starting gate.
PHHA / Pocono