by Ellen Harvey, Harness Racing Communications

Freehold, NJ — The 4-year-old pacer Shark’s Legacy gave owner Joseph E. Smith, of Vero Beach, Fla., and trainer Tom Fanning, as well as the betting public, a bit of a surprise in the second leg of the George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series at Yonkers Raceway on April 2. At odds of 42-1, he closed from sixth at the half with a :28.2 last quarter to be second to favorite Giddy Up Lucky in his $50,000 division. Shark’s Legacy was driven by Brent Holland.

“I think he got kind of a ground-saving trip and he’s got a pretty good brush to him,” Fanning said. “He needs those kinds of trips to do well against those horses. He was used pretty hard and got a little weak on the end.”

The Levy runner-up effort was just the fourth start of the year for the son of Four Starzzz Shark. The Levy continues Saturday at Yonkers and the $495,000 final is slated for April 30.

“We raced him at 3, gave him some time off and brought him back at 4 this year,” Fanning said. “If he gets the right kinds of trips in these series, he can be competitive, for sure. He has to leave a little bit, find a little early position. Really, ground saving is the best kind of trip for him.”

Smith purchased Shark’s Legacy for $100,000 at the Tattersalls January Select Mixed Sale in 2010 after making a phone call to his trainer at the sale. The horse has won seven of 33 career races and earned $232,801. Out of the dam Four Starz Boo, his family includes 2003 Metro Pace winner Camelot Hall and stakes winners such as Castanet Hall and Andy Roo.

“He was not even on our radar, but Mr. Smith called me up at the sale and said, ‘Please go look at this horse and see what you think.’ It was a spur of the moment kind of thing,” Fanning said. “I told him what I thought and he went ahead and pulled the trigger.”

Shark’s Legacy is the only horse Smith and Fanning have in the Levy, which last weekend had six divisions, with seven stables sending out two or more horses.

“That’s what makes it tough to do well in this series,” Fanning said. “There are guys spending a lot more money with a lot more horses that you’re competing against. That’s how it goes. That’s America, right?”

Smith and Fanning will keep Shark’s Legacy, whose caretaker is Pauline MacDonald, in the series for the foreseeable future.

“I was on the fence about it; I thought if he did not do as well as we thought last week, we’d consider taking him out for a little bit but he seems to be going in the right direction,” Fanning said.

“He’s a nice versatile horse, and with today’s purse structure the way it is, he should do well for himself. Most of his earnings last year ($137,916) were in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes. He was third in the Hempt last year for $300,000. He did not have one big win last year, but he’s just kind of a consistent horse — always around.”