Cara Cara, trained by John Mattine, chases her first stakes success in Saturday’s $100,000 Zadracarta at Woodbine.
Sporting a mark of 4-3-4 from 18 starts, Cara Cara will take on six rivals in the five-furlong event for Ontario-bred fillies, three-year-olds and up, contested over the inner turf.
Mattine, who conditions for owner and breeder Norseman Racing Stable (Howard Walton), would like to see the four-year-old replicate her June 8 performance when she posted a 1 ½-length win on the same course and at the same distance.
“She is an honest one, for sure,” said Mattine. “I think everyone would want one like her. I can’t say enough good things about her. She is not an overly large horse, but she runs like one. She is gritty.
“That inner turf race is a perfect example of who she is. You look at her pedigree and there is turf, top to bottom. I always thought she could run well on the grass and that race showed it.”
The bay daughter of multiple graded stakes winner Signature Red (also owned by Walton) is set to take her third shot at stakes success.
She was third in the 2022 edition of the Victorian Queen, in what was her second lifetime start, and fourth in last year’s Georgian Bay.
“We love her, she’s very cool,” said Mattine. “She’s matured more. Over her time, she’s dropped a lot of riders. But she is getting better with age.”
Cara Cara debuted with a fourth on September 10, 2022, showing late interest in a 5 ½-furlong sprint over the Woodbine main track.
She broke her maiden at that very distance and on the same footing in her fourth start, on June 11, 2023.
Finding the lead early, Cara Cara, ahead by 4 ½ lengths at the stretch call, went on to record a sharp five-length score in 1:03.91.
Cara Cara, who posted nine consecutive top four finishes to launch her career, has five top three finishes from six engagements in 2024, which has yielded a 1-2-2 record.
She arrives at the Zadracarta off a second in a six-furlong main track race, originally slated for the grass, on August 31.
“Everyone at the barn is looking forward to this race. Mark, her groom, and Randy, her exercise rider, have done great work with her. As soon as I told them the distance of the race, they both said, ‘Perfect!’ Hopefully, she comes up with a big effort on Saturday.”
The Zadracarta is part of Saturday’s 10-race card. First post time is 1:10 p.m. Fans can watch and wager on all the action through HPIbet.com and bet365.com.
Field for the Zadracarta (Race 9)
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Owen’s Tour Guide (S) – Jose Campos – William Armata
2 – Sacred Dancer – Leo Salles – Don Pleterski
3 – Dancing Duchess – Sahin Civaci – Mark Casse
4 – Indian Music – Daisuke Fukumoto – Michael Sims
5 – Olivia Rose – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse
6 – Zana – Ryan Munger – Steven Flint
7 – Cara Cara – Eswan Flores – John Mattine
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