Woodstock, VA — Janet Davis’s Oops All Berries captured the $116,750 Virginia Breeders Fund 2-Year-Old Filly Pace at Shenandoah Downs Saturday (Oct. 31) and shattered the prior speed mark for that division by two full seconds. The Captain Crunch filly authored quarter panels of :28, :57.1 and 1:25.3 before crossing in 1:54.1 with Eric Davis in the sulky. She won her fourth straight race and is six-for-nine overall now with a pair of second place finishes for owner Ramona Gillespie. Jason Skinner’s Denim N Pearls finished second and Hagerman Racing’s All That Rusty was third.
The filly clash was one of four Breeders Fund finals on the Woodstock oval’s freshman showcase card which featured a combined $453,850 in purse money for the quartet.
Hagerman Racing’s Caviart Legend survived a wild 2-Year-Old Colt Pace final that saw lead changes galore. Corey Braden piloted the son of Captain Crunch to a 1:58 finish as he powered past stretch leader Ohh Hey Bud and finished one length the best. Initially, the winner paced in fourth through the half while betting favorite Balladdrgoldfngr led early but surrendered the top spot to Blue Jay’s Watchin after going off stride. The favored pacer regained his gait and surged back into the lead from outside at the third panel and led shortly but Ohh Hey Bud stormed four-wide in the final turn to take control heading into the final straightaway.
Caviart Legend, sent off at 9-1, prevailed after respective second- and fourth-place finishes in two elimination legs. Joe Chindano’s Ohh Hey Bud ended up second and Vanessa Powell’s Lovethatsoup wad third.
Caviart Farm’s Call Me Ovi took care of business in the $111,475 2-Year-Old Colt Trot after an impressive second-round elimination victory. The Gimpanzee colt, trained by Hall of Famer Jim Campbell, wired the field and crossed in 1:58.4, three lengths ahead of runner-up In The Worst Way. Troy Beyer was in the bike for Call Me Ovi’s win a week ago in 2:00.4 and in Saturday’s finale. Hagerman Racing’s II Mago gelding was second and William Roberts and Graham Grace Stables’ Youcancallmeroy took third.
“This was a race we had on the calendar,” said Campbell. “We kept him at Chester because he wasn’t quite ready to go in Kentucky Sire Stake competition yet. Troy great job bringing him along. He’s one of those green horses that took him awhile to get used to the grandstand and things like that. I was impressed with him today — that was a good mile over this track. As the season has gone on, he’s matured and become a very nice racehorse.”
Asked about Shenandoah Downs, he said, “This is my second time here and I’m most impressed by the people. They’re all very friendly. I’ve bumped into some people I hadn’t seen in 40 years or more. It’s nice. It reminds me of going with my dad to some of the smaller tracks in Canada when he was racing. It gives me a special feeling to think of my dad that way.”
Tremaine Harding’s Dance With Jenni, winner of the $103,150 Virginia Sire Stake final Oct. 3, was best again in Saturday’s $110,500 Breeders Fund 2-Year-Old Filly Trot. The daughter of Armed Dangerously completed a stellar meet when she crossed in 2:00.4 with Billy Carter in the bike. Sent off at 8-1 odds, she maintained a front-stepping position throughout, posting fractions of :30, 1:00.3 and 1:30.3. The winner is trained by Mike Whitaker. Tremaine Harding and Cornelius Martin’s Queen Jessica took second and Rudy Hostetler’s Aren’t I Pretty finished third.
In Sunday action, “Horse of the Meet” One Fell Swoop completed a perfect fall season in Woodstock in an $8,500 conditioned pace. The 3-year-old Huntsville gelding came into the race five-for-five and met a rise in class without blinking. Driver/trainer Chuck Perry directed Chris Pangle’s charge to his best time yet — a 1:54.1 clocking. Locally based Pangle bought a trio of harness horses this spring — his first ones ever — with One fell Swoop, one of the three purchases, going on to win all six starts at Pangle’s home track this fall.
Twenty-two-year-old William Carter won the track’s driver title with 24 wins. Corey Braden finished second with 22 and Fern Paquet Jr. was third with 17. In the trainer chase, 23-year-old Bryson Dunning took top honors with 21 wins. Scott Warnick finished second with 19 and Elisha Lafreniere was third with 10.
The 11th fall season at Shenandoah Downs came to a close Sunday. The track will conduct spring and fall meets again in 2027.