Caviart Ally, an O'Brien Older Pacing Mare of the Year and winner of more than $2 million, has given birth to her first foal, according to her owners Judy and Buck Chaffee of Caviart Farms.
The bay colt, born earlier this month at Hanover Shoe Farms, is the son of two Breeders Crown champions: Caviart Ally, who captured her Breeders Crown trophy in 2019, and Captain Crunch, who won the prestigious race in 2018 and was voted Dan Patch Two-Year-Old Pacing Colt of the Year. Captain Crunch’s credentials include a time of 1:47.2 and earnings of $1,725,495.
Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky, Executive Vice President at Hanover Shoe Farms, spoke on behalf of the farm in saying that they feel “happy and honoured to have Caviart Ally back at Hanover where she was born and raised.” She praised Ally’s racing talent and stakes record, and reminded that Ally stems from a highly successful pacing family – a family that she revealed has long been one of her personal favourites.
Impressed with Ally’s new colt, Dr. Jablonsky described him as very good looking, adding that he “definitely looks like mama!” His markings, she said, are very similar to Ally’s markings, an “incomplete star with strip and a white left front ankle.”
In announcing the new colt’s arrival, Buck Chaffee said, “This is very exciting – a great looking colt from such a talented mare as Ally, and additionally by one of our farm’s most successful stallions, Captain Crunch. It doesn’t get any better than that! It is our mare, our stallion and now our beautiful colt.”
Judy, who is CEO and co-owns Caviart Farms with her husband, recalled, “All the while that Caviart Ally was racing was a magical and exciting time. I think most memorable of all was Ally nosing out Shartin in the TVG FFA – announcer Ken Warkentin calling out what he termed a 'bang, bang finish,' then excitedly shouting into the microphone, '1:48.3! What a race!' It was so thrilling that it sent goosebumps down the spine. The intense rivalry between those two mares was certainly terrific for our sport.
“But even then, I was anxious for Ally to have her first baby and felt confident that the foal would be special. How could it not be? And now this beautiful colt is everything I dreamed about – spunky, gorgeous and absolutely perfect. Pending approval by the USTA, the plan is to name him Caviart Ashland – and to call him ‘Ashe.’ It seems like a nice name and suits him. Plus the icing on the cake is how Ally has really taken to motherhood. She is a great mom.”
Under the tutelage of first Noel Daley, followed by Brett Pelling when Daley briefly returned to train in his native Australia, Caviart Ally was driven throughout her racing career by Andy McCarthy. Among her 28 wins, in addition to the Breeders Crown, were such top level stakes as the Jugette elimination and final, Pennsylvania Sire Stakes final, twice the Milton Stakes, Bluegrass, the Allerage Pace and her swan song victory in the $100,000 Blue Chip Matchmaker Invitational in 2020.
Both Chaffees enthused about the new colt’s bloodlines. Caviart Ally, of course, is by the highly successful sire Bettors Delight. Her half-brother, All Speed Hanover has a time of P, 3, 1:49.4S, earnings of $830,738 and also chalked up the Breeders Crown among his victories.
Caviart Ally’s dam, Allamerican Cool, is a half-sister to $4.1 million winning Eternal Camnation, the leading money-winning pacing mare of all time. And adding to these impressive credentials, Ally’s fourth dam, Hall of Fame mare Three Diamonds, is also the dam of former pacing stars Life Sign and Threefold.
Captain Crunch, this foal’s sire, also touts an impressive list of very highest level stakes wins, including the Governor’s Cup, Cane Pace and Pepsi North America Cup. His own sire is leading stallion Captaintreacherous, winner of $3 million, and his dam is the Artiscape mare Sweet Paprika, a half-sister of $3 million winning Sweet Lou, $2.8 million winning Bettor Sweet and to Sweet Lady Jane, who is the dam of $1.6 million-winning Youaremycandygirl.
Caviart Ally is booked to Captaintreacherous in 2022.
(With files from Caviart Farms)