The B.C. Breeders Stakes for three-year-olds kicked off on Friday night (October 16) at Fraser Downs with a pair of $10,000 first leg divisions of the Robert Murphy Memorial for male pacers and two Mary Murphy Memorial preliminaries for fillies.

Outlaw C My Shadow ($2.50) outdid his rivals in the opening split, winning by a dozen lengths for trainer/driver Connie Kolthammer.

After landing in third while Leisure Suit Larry posted opening panels of :29 and :59, Outlaw C My Shadow rushed from third to first down the backstretch and cleared to command at the 1:26.2 three-quarters mark. Owned and bred by the Alberta-based Outlaw West Stable, the Shadow Play-Grand Slam Woman gelding then opened up six lengths by the top of the stretch and doubled his leading margin before hitting the wire in a career-best 1:53.4 over a track rated 'good.' Salvadors Sun and Vertical Squirt rounded out the top three finish order.

Outlaw C My Shadow, who now sports a seasonal summary of 3-2-4 from 14 starts, won for the fifth time in his career and hit the $50,000 earnings mark.

The second division for male pacers went to West Coast Beach ($2.40), who fought back when challenged by the pesky pocket-pursuer Strateontilmorning in the stretch to prevail by a nose in 1:54 flat.

West Coast Beach battled Strateontilmorning for the lead through a :27.3 opening quarter, with a gap of three lengths back to the rest of the field. The top two remained well ahead of their foes through a half in :56 and three-quarters in 1:24.4 with Strateontilmorning moving off the rail and confronting the pacesetter down the lane. Strateontilmorning got a head in front, but West Coast Beach dug in for the victory. Wits Beach finished two lengths behind in third.

Rod Therres trains, drives and co-owns the homebred Sunshine Beach-Village Janus gelding with Veikko Pajunen of Vancouver, B.C. West Coast Beach, who was the divisional runner-up in last year's Robert Millbank Memorial championship, has won three of his 10 sophomore starts. He now has five career wins and a bankroll amounting to more than $95,000.

The reigning divisional champion Probert ($2.10) brought Therres right back to the winner's circle after another photo finish in the first Mary Murphy division.

Therres' own Dali-Outlawcherishafool filly swept from third to first at the :29.1 quarter mark and carved out middle splits of :58.2 and 1:27 before holding off the pocket-pulling Rockin With Lou in a final quarter sprint to the wire. The time of the mile was 1:55.2 and the winning margin was a head. Red Hot Schmoolie finished 7-3/4 lengths back in third.

Undefeated in seven starts as a two-year-old, Probert claimed the B.C. Sales Stakes in March and has now won back-to-back races. She has banked $138,440 from 15 lifetime starts.

The lightly raced filly Moosette ($5.70) won the final Mary Murphy division with Brandon Campbell in the sulky for trainer Jim Marino and the Shale Stables of Merritt, B.C.

The homebred daughter of Hes Watching out of B.C. Breeders Stakes champion mare Legal Suspensory is now two-for-four with a mark of 1:56.

Yjuliahos overtook 6-5 favourite Indigo Beach during a :27.2 first quarter and led the way to the half in :58.1. After passing the midway mark, Campbell sent Moosette first-up from fourth and she improved position through three-quarters in 1:27 before drawing clear to win by two lengths. Riverunsnappy came on for second over Yjuliahos and Indigo Beach.

Both Robert Murphy winners are related to current Fraser Downs record holders. Outlaw C My Shadow is a half-brother to Outlawgrabbingears (entered Saturday at Woodbine Mohawk Park), who holds the 1:52.1 track record for three-year-old colts, while West Coast Beach is a half-sibling to Canadian Pharoh, who set the 1:51.3 record for sophomore geldings.

West Coast Beach has tied a record himself -- the 1:53.4 fastest time by a two-year-old male pacer -- when making his career debut in the Robert Millbank last year, and Probert shares the filly record after capping off her freshman season with a 1:55.1 score in the Fraser Miss.

To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Fraser Downs.