by Rich Fisher, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent
Trenton, NJ — After looking like a mere shadow of herself two weeks ago, this lady appears to be back in form entering the $250,000 Breeders Crown Mare Pace final Friday night (Oct. 28) at the Meadowlands.
Lady Shadow, an O’Brien Award winner in Canada at ages 3 and 4, entered the Oct. 9 Allerage Mare Pace in Lexington with eight firsts and a second in her previous nine races before finishing eighth. After some tweaks by trainer Ron Adams, Lady Shadow rebounded last Friday to win her Breeders Crown Mare Pace elimination by 7-3/4 lengths in 1:48.4 over a track rated “good” because of rain.
“She raced huge, she’s back to her old self,” Adams said. “She looked very strong, the plugs were still in, and I was very happy with her.”
The 5-year-old is one of the favorites heading into the final, where she will face a field that includes Frost Damage Blues, also an elimination winner, stakes-winning Solar Sister, and 2015 Breeders Crown 3-year-old filly champion Divine Caroline. Lady Shadow finished fourth in last year’s Mare Pace.
According to the trainer, it didn’t take much to get Lady Shadow back on the right track for last week’s elimination.
“We made a few little changes to her daily routine,” Adams said. “She tied up on us in Lexington and she was just no good. We’ve made some changes to her routine and training schedule to try to prevent tie up and it seemed to bounce her right back to her old self.
“She’s been iron tough all year. I like her attitude and her willingness to race.”
Lady Shadow, driven by Yannick Gingras, feels right at home at the Meadowlands. She has won all three of her starts there this year, including the Lady Liberty and Golden Girls. Adams noted that she enjoys big tracks such as Mohawk and the Meadowlands.
“She gets to use her speed to her advantage,” he said. “On the smaller tracks she gets jammed up in the turns a little bit. Here she gets to stretch her legs and just kind of roll along. That’s what she likes.”
What she likes most of all is to compete. She has won nearly half of her 53 career starts, posting 26 victories to go with eight seconds and three thirds. Her career earnings are $1.36 million and this year she has won $630,981, which leads all older female pacers.
“When she shows up at the racetrack she’s all game, she’s here to race,” Adams said. “She brings it every week. She had a good year last year. She went some big trips and kind of had a little bit of bad racing luck in between, too.”
Co-owned by Howard Taylor and Richard Lombardo’s BFJ Stable, Ed Gold, Carl Atley and David Kryway, the group purchased the daughter of Shadow Play and Lady Camella in the summer of 2015.
Adams, who took over training Lady Shadow in June 2015, couldn’t have been happier.
“I followed her whole career,” he said. “I knew she was a nice mare. She just got better, bigger, stronger, and came back even better this year.”
In the first elimination race, Solar Sister won but was disqualified and placed fourth for interfering with Sassa Hanover, who went off stride nearing the wire. Thus, Frost Damage Blues, who finished second by a neck, was declared the winner after going 1:51.1. Divine Caroline was placed second and Sassa Hanover third. Katie Said got the last spot in the final by finishing fifth.
Frost Damage Blues, driven by Brett Miller, has won five of 10 starts with two seconds in winning $58,063. In her elimination, she was seventh with a quarter-mile to go and stormed home in :25.2.
“She raced great,” trainer Tom Fanning said. “She came from a bit of a tough spot, but that’s kind of how she likes to race. Every time we’ve taken her out of her game it’s been a little disappointing. We just do what she likes.”
Fanning is hoping Frost Damage Blues, a 4-year-old daughter of Western Ideal-Art Matters, can buck a trend on Friday night.
“Her year has been good but she’s been a little unlucky,” he said. “She seems to get rough trips in the finals and it hasn’t worked out for her. Maybe here it will work out. It worked out (in her elimination) so that was good. She’s a nice mare. She tries hard. I think our mare can finish off a mile as good as any of them.”
Solar Sister has hit the board in 12 of 15 starts this season, with four firsts, four seconds and four thirds for $347,922. Trainer Gregg McNair hopes the 4-year-old daughter of Mach Three-Cabrini Hanover is coming around after two thirds and a sixth in her previous three races before the elimination.
“She hasn’t raced that good her last three starts, but here I think she raced a little bit better,” McNair said. “She raced better than she had been racing. She came up real flat at Flamboro (finishing third in the Ellamony on Oct. 1). Two starts ago, the trip didn’t work out for her. But the race we were really disappointed in was Flamboro.”
For the most part, though, the trainer is happy.
“She’s been a good mare,” McNair said about Solar Sister, who was Canada’s 2015 O’Brien Award winner for best 3-year-old filly pacer. “We really haven’t over-raced her. She’s raced pretty good down here; she seems to like the Meadowlands.”
Trainer Joe Holloway had David Miller drive two mares into the final with Divine Caroline and Bettor Be Steppin, who finished fifth in Lady Shadow’s division. Divine Caroline was the U.S.’s 2015 Dan Patch Award winner for best 3-year-old filly pacer.
Both horses are familiar with the Breeders Crown, having been there at ages 2, 3 and now 4. Last season, Divine Caroline (Rock N Roll Heaven-Loving Caroline) and Bettor Be Steppin (Bettor’s Delight-Two Steppin’ Sally) combined to win 13 races and earn $1.13 million.
“This year has been a disappointment, but it’s a tough transition from 3 to 4,” Holloway said. “Both made the final, so that part’s accomplished. I thought they raced good.
“Steppin had to back up and I knew I was just going for a check. Caroline, she’s improving each time a little bit; I’m a little bit optimistic with her and hope for a bigger check. Maybe Steppin can grab a check too. We’ll just have to see how the race goes.”
Finishing behind Lady Shadow in her elimination were Bedroomconfessions, Regil Elektra, and Skippin By.
Following is the field in post order for the $250,000 Breeders Crown Mare Pace.
PP–Horse–Driver-Trainer
1. Divine Caroline–David Miller–Joe Holloway
2. Lady Shadow–Yannick Gingras–Ron Adams
3. Katie Said–Scott Zeron–Jimmy Takter
4. Frost Damage Blues–Brett Miller–Tom Fanning
5. Solar Sister–Doug McNair–Gregg McNair
6. Skippin By–Corey Callahan–Ron Burke
7. Sassa Hanover–Yannick Gingras–Ron Burke
8. Regil Elektra–Joe Bongiorno–Keith Armer
9. Bettor Be Steppin–David Miller–Joe Holloway
10. Bedroomconfessions–Scott Zeron–Tony Alagna
- Frost Damage Blues and Lady Shadow take Crown mares pacing elims (Friday, October 21, 2016)
In the first of two $20,000 Breeders Crown elims for the Open Mare Pacers at The Meadowlands on Oct. 21, Frost Damage Blues, driven by Brett Miller, finished second but was placed first for the 1:51.1 win. While Lady Shadow easily handled her opposition to visit the winner’s circle in 1:48.4.
- Fields set for Breeders Crown finals (Sunday, October 23, 2016)
A full slate of elimination races on Saturday evening (Oct. 22) at the Meadowlands narrowed down the fields for next weekend’s $5.8 million Breeders Crown, presented by Mullinax Ford.
- Alagna on Tori Hanover and his nine Breeders Crown finalists (Tuesday, October 25, 2016)
Tori Hanover began her career with a bang, but not in the best sense of the phrase.
- Per Henriksen seeks fourth Breeders Crown title with Muscle Hustle (Tuesday, October 25, 2016)
Trainer Per Henriksen is old enough to know that you’re never too old to take a shot in the Breeders Crown. The 70-year-old native of Norway, who is based out of Norwood, Ontario, is back in this year’s Breeders Crown presented by Mullinax Ford at the Meadowlands in New Jersey on Saturday night (Oct. 29), seven years since he last raced in the championship event.
- Breeders Crown 3-year-old colt pace is ‘most important race’ for Burke (Wednesday, October 26, 2016)
Ron Burke will send high-profile stars Hannelore Hanover and Southwind Frank into Breeders Crown action this weekend, but neither horse will be in the event the trainer considers the most important to his stable. Burke, who has 17 horses spread throughout nine of the dozen Breeders Crown races at the Meadowlands, considers Saturday’s $500,000 final for 3-year-old male pacers integral to a successful weekend. Burke has four horses in the event, led by one of last week’s elimination winners, Check Six.
- Bee A Magician seeks third Breeders Crown title on Friday (Wednesday, October 26, 2016)
Several months ago it might have seemed a long shot to see Bee A Magician in the Breeders Crown, but now that she’s there she is one of the favorites. Bee A Magician, who didn’t race competitively for nearly five months because of a tendon injury, is the 2-1 second choice in Friday’s (Oct. 28) $250,000 Breeders Crown Mare Trot at the Meadowlands. Hannelore Hanover, who has won 15 of 18 races this season, is the 8-5 morning line favorite.
- Smedshammer duo aim for Breeders Crown glory (Wednesday, October 26, 2016)
Trond Smedshammer is going against his philosophy not once, but twice this week. So far, it seems to be working out. Smedshammer has qualified two Purple Haze Stables horses for the $600,000 Breeders Crown for 2-year-old filly trotters, as Chezatter and Hillarmbro will both compete in this Saturday’s final at the Meadowlands.
- Father-son team looks to zero in on Breeders Crown with Shamballa (Wednesday, October 26, 2016)
It’s been a great year for Rick and Scott Zeron and what would make it even better is winning a Breeders Crown race, something the father-and-son have yet to do in their illustrious careers.
- Downbythesesaside seeks to cap his stroll on the shore with a Crown (Friday, October 28, 2016)
Nearly any conditioner who bears the responsibility of preparing a world champion for what could be a defining moment in his career normally discusses the merits of his colt. In typical Brian Brown fashion, however, he reveals why Downbytheseaside may not be the horse posing for pictures in the Meadowlands winner’s circle on Saturday (Oct. 29) after his performance in the $600,000 Breeders Crown final for 2-year-old pacing colts and geldings.
- McIntosh and Campbell look for more Breeders Crown magic (Thursday, October 27, 2016)
Forget about holiday protocol, Bob McIntosh is jumping right over Halloween and American Thanksgiving. “It will be a little bit of Christmas if we get the right trip,” said McIntosh, referring to his horse L A Delight in Saturday’s (Oct. 29) $500,000 Breeders Crown for 3-year-old female pacers at the Meadowlands.
- VIP Stable syndication flourishing (Thursday, October 27, 2016)
Pennsylvania Sire Stakes champion Giveitgasandgo is certainly creating his own VIP experience leading up to this weekend’s Breeders Crown. Trained by John Butenschoen, Giveitgasandgo had won seven straight races prior to finishing third in last week’s Breeders Crown eliminations, in which he qualified for the $600,000 2-year-old colt and gelding trot final this Saturday (Oct. 29) at the Meadowlands.
- Breeders Crown win would be sweet “revenge” for Durham (Thursday, October 27, 2016)
It is with a sense of emotion that Jeff Durham is going into the Breeders Crown for the first time following the passing of his father, who was instrumental in his career, earlier this month. His father, Jack, had been in failing health the last 10 years and passed away at the family home in Omemee, a couple hours east of Toronto ON. He was 71.
- “This is what it’s all about” (Friday, October 28, 2016)
Jimmy Takter needs few words to sum up tonight’s Breeders Crown Open Pace at the Meadowlands, which features a continuation of the rivalry between Takter’s Always B Miki and George Teague Jr.’s Wiggle It Jiggleit. “This,” Takter says, “is what it’s all about.”
- Sir John F may turn into Mr. Holland’s opus in Breeders Crown freshman trot (Friday, October 28, 2016)
Veteran trainer Herb Holland is happy to be a member of harness racing’s dream team.