Hastings, MI — Showboat Shooting, with driver/trainer Lauren Harmon in tow, left hard and never looked back en route to a 1:57.2 victory in Tuesday’s (Sept. 8) $9,000 conditioned pacing feature at Northville Downs at the Barry Expo Center.
The duo secured the lead from post 2 and were immediately pressured by Jet Six and driver/trainer/owner Anthony Gutierrez. Unfortunately, for Jet Six and Gutierrez, they never saw a pylon and remained parked for the mile.
After reaching the half-mile mark in :58.3 and three-quarters in 1:29, Showboat Shooting and Harmon faced a new challenge in the stretch from a hard-charging Go Go Lyla Jane and driver/trainer Gerald Malady.
Harmon let out a loud squall to rouse Showboat Shooting, sending his ears upward in attention, and the gelding responded by holding off the challenge to win by a widening length.
The victory was the fourth of the year for the 8-year-old Straight Shooting gelding and the 24th of his career, boosting his lifetime earnings to $248,879.
Racing resumes at the Hastings, Mich., oval on Wednesday (Sept. 9) with a 1 p.m. first post and 10 races on tap. The program features eight Michigan Sire Stakes finals with a combined purse total of $736,500, showcasing some of the state’s best 2- and 3-year-old pacers and trotters. The final two races of the afternoon will be a pair of $13,000 Open events, one for each gait.