McCarthy is impressed with mare in Matchmaker

After capturing her third-round harness racing division in the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series for older female pacers last week, Incaseyoudidntknow (Always B Miki-In Deep Thought) will get another chance to prove her mettle when she faces four other prelim winners in the fourth leg of the event Friday (April 7) at MGM Yonkers Raceway.

Three $40,000 divisions of the Matchmaker will be contested Friday, with the third split featuring five of the top-eight horses in the standings, including all three division winners from last week’s action: Incaseyoudidntknow, Amazing Dream N, and Dougs Babe A.

Incaseyoudidntknow and driver Andy McCarthy will start from post two and are 9-2 on the morning line. Amazing Dream N, unbeaten in the first three rounds of the series and sitting atop the standings, will leave from post one with driver Yannick Gingras and is the 8-5 favorite.

Dougs Babe A and driver Dexter Dunn, starting from post five, are 9-2. Lucky Artist A and Lydeo, both winners in the second round, got posts six and seven, respectively. Lucky Artist A, with driver Braxten Boyd, is 8-1 while Lydeo, with Matt Kakaley, is 20-1.

“She’s going to get a chance to prove herself this week, that’s for sure,” McCarthy said about Incaseyoudidntknow. “We’ve got an ideal post position for it, anyway. I think we can make something happen there.”

McCarthy has driven Incaseyoudidntknow, a 5-year-old mare, in her two most recent starts. In the first, she finished second by a half-length to Racine Bell after avoiding a breaking horse in the stretch. Last week, she used a first-over march from prior to the half-mile point to win by three-quarters of a length over Morning Has Broken in 1:52.3.

“I was really impressed with her the first time I drove her,” McCarthy said. “She ended up second-over, but I had to check her pretty hard at the head of the stretch when the horse in front of her made a break and she still finished strong. I figured she would be terrific last week if I could put her in a spot to be first-over or be a little more aggressive with her. It just doesn’t seem like she gets tired.”

Incaseyoudidntknow, trained by Les Givens, has won three of 11 races this year and 19 of 52 lifetime. She has earned $298,551 for owners James Magno and Joseph Fonte. Despite a sixth-place finish in the first round of the Matchmaker, she is fifth in the standings with 150 points.

“I think she’s a serious contender in the series,” McCarthy said. “I like her grittiness. I’ll be honest, I love driving horses that like first-over. I think they’re the best horses, and she seems like she’s one of those. And she’s versatile. I believe she’s got a reasonable amount of gate speed if you really want to use it. I think she’s a major player.”

The top-eight horses at the completion of the Matchmaker’s five preliminary rounds are eligible for the final. Horses receive 50 points for winning, 25 for second, 12 for third, eight for fourth, and five for fifth. In addition, all starters in each round receive 25 points.

Amazing Dream N leads the way with 225 points, followed by Racine Bell with 175, and Drama Act and Lucky Artist A with 158 each. Rounding out the top eight are Karma Seelster with 145, Dougs Babe A with 142, and Lydeo with 130.

Gotthegreenlight is the 2-1 favorite in the first Matchmaker division Friday. Drama Act is the even-money choice in the second.

Racing begins at 7 p.m. EDT at Yonkers. For free TrackMaster past performances, visit the Standardbred Owners Association of New York website.

For the complete Blue Chip Matchmaker standings, click here.

by Ken Weingartner, for the USTA