by David Mattia, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Plainfield, NJ — Last Friday afternoon (August 1) at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, Shadow Play set a world record for his age, sex and gait on a five-eighths-mile track when he won an elimination of The Delvin Miller Adios in a blazing 1:48.2. David Miller steered the 3-year-old son of The Panderosa-Matt’s Filly for trainer Mark Ford who is doing a great job of “babysitting” this speedy colt.

“We’re just sort of looking after Shadow Play for Dr. Ian Moore,” said Ford. “Dr. Moore is a professor at the Atlantic Veterinary College on Prince Edward Island, Canada and he trains some horses on the side. He does a very good job overall and he ended up with some good horses this year and Shadow Play is one of them.

“Dr. Moore does a lot of traveling between Toronto and Prince Edward Island, and with this horse being Pennsylvania sired he ended up sending him to me for the Sire Stakes. In all reality I really had nothing to do with his success since Dr. Moore sent him up and I’m just babysitting him.”

Of course records are made to be broken but Ford feels that a series of circumstances set up to help put Shadow Play in the record books.

“Time is sort of irrelevant these days,” said Ford. “It was a great day as far as the weather was concerned. There was no wind and you know they all go fast when things set up like that, and the Pocono track just seems to agree with the way he likes to race.

Racehorsephoto.com photo

Shadow Play won his Delvin Miller Adios elimination in a world record clocking of 1:48.2.

“Shadow Play is the kind of horse who gets over the ground easy. He was parked almost to the half but once he cleared he took a pretty good run down the backstretch and the further he went the faster he went. I was surprised that he covered the mile as fast as he did but he’s a fast horse.”

Shadow Play has drawn post position six in Saturday’s $350,000 Delvin Miller Adios Final and has been listed as the 5-2 morning line favorite.

The colt came to Ford via the aforementioned Dr. Ian Moore after he’d won an overnight event at Mohawk Racetrack in 1:50.2 on June 21. In two North America Cup events at Mohawk prior to this victory the colt had been hampered by poor post positions when he came up against some very tough competition.

On June 7, the black colt drew post nine in a $49,000 North America Cup elimination and never saw any action for driver Rick Zeron. Unable to get into the race, he finished eighth behind the winner Somebeachsomewhere (1:49) and second place finisher Art Official, despite pacing in 1:51.2.

In the subsequent $98,000 North America Cup Consolation on June 14, the draw put him behind post eight and again he was unable to get into the fray. On the wire he was a well-beaten seventh place finisher while Upfront Hannasboy snagged that one in 1:49.2.

Previous to those races he picked up the fifth place check behind the winner Somebeachsomewhere in a $101,000 Burlington division at Mohawk, but had failed to get a check the preceding week in his $37,634 Max Hempt elimination when he took his first tour over the Pocono oval.

In Ford’s hands the colt’s luck hadn’t really improved all that much, but he seemed to be graduating to a higher level of performance. In his first start for Ford on July 1, Shadow Play was parked the mile from post nine in a $42,553 Pennsylvania Sire Stake at Pocono. Stuck on the outside through a three-quarter clocking of 1:21, he held on for third behind the winner Upfront Hannasboy.

In his next start at Pocono Downs, Shadow Play won a Reynolds division on the engine in 1:50.1 for David Miller and followed that up with an overnight score for Tim Tetrick in 1:49.4 — and that’s when things began to go his way.

There was, however, one last bad patch — quite literally as a matter of fact. On July 25, something on the track at The Meadows caused him to break.

“The week before the Adios, Shadow Play was at The Meadows and there was a bad spot into the last turn,” said Ford. “He made a wicked, nasty break but he came back strong to finish fourth and was placed fifth.”

As far as his colt’s chances in the Adios Final are concerned, Ford is cautiously optimistic.

“It’s a very evenly matched bunch. I don’t think there are any superstars in there and we’ll just have to see how it plays out.

“He’s a beautiful horse — a big, black beautiful Panderosa. He’s a very handsome horse and he’s just a great horse to be around. I’d like him a lot better if I owned him because I think he can go on from here.

“I think he’s eligible to the Jug later on. I am not sure if he’s that caliber or not. Like I said, I really had nothing to do with his success because since Dr. Moore sent him to me I’m just babysitting him.”

Shadow Play is a son of The Panderosa, from the Matt’s Scooter mare Matt’s Filly. In 27 starts he has won 10 times and has accumulated a bankroll of $136,996 for his owners, Dr. Ian Moore of Charlottetown, PEI, R G McGroup Ltd, of Bathurst, NB and Serge Savard of Saint-Bruno, PQ. He was bred in Pennsylvania by Samuel Stoltzfus of Ronks, Pa.

Here is the complete field for the Adios Final: 1-Goddess’s Justin, 4-1 (Mike Wilder); 2-Todd J H Hanover, 10-1 (Yannick Gingras); 3-Major General, 20-1 (Andy Miller); 4-Mystery Chase, 5-1 (Brian Sears); 5-Sand Shooter, 7-2 (Tim Tetrick); 6-Shadow Play, 5-2 (David Miller); 7-Lonestar Legend, 6-1 (Ron Pierce); 8-Dali, 15-1 (John Campbell); and 9-Atochia, 8-1 (Dave Palone).

The Adios will be race 10 on Saturday’s 16-race card at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs and post time will be approximately 5:00 p.m. (EDT).