When the three-year-old pacing fillies kick off their 2014 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold season on Monday night at Mohawk, one sire is predominant among the two $105,000 divisions.

Shadow Play is the sire of seven of the elite fillies, which isn’t surprising considering he absolutely dominated this division last year with his starters earning a half million dollars more than the next best stallion.

In the first division, race six, there are five daughters of Shadow Play among the nine starters including last year’s leader in this group, Performing Art, who has post one. Last year she earned $190,350 from just nine starts. She concluded her rookie season winning the $200,000 OSS Super Final.

Owned by Sauble Hill Farms of Tara and Nasussito Racing Inc. of Ayr, Ontario, Performing Art is trained by Otis Hall and will have the services of Billy Davis Jr. at the lines.

Dr. Ian Moore, who trained Shadow Play during his impressive racing career, has a pair of fillies entered in Monday’s OSS. He’ll send Brookdale Shadow out in the first division from post eight and Shadows Wonder in the second split, race nine.
The latter filly is owned and bred by the same group that owned her sire, former NHL star Serge Savard of Quebec, RG McGroup of New Brunswick and Moore of Guelph, Ontario.

The other Shadow Play daughter in the second division is Alibi Seelster who has four wins and two third place finishes in six starts so far this year for trainer/owner Jack Darling. One of the top earners among the two-year-old fillies last year, Alibi Seelster has post eight with Paul MacDonell at the controls.

MacDonell will also drive Darling’s other OSS starter on Monday, Nefertiti Bluechip who will leave from post three in the first division. The fourth top money earner among this group last year, Nefertiti Bluechip has a win and a third in three sophomore appearances.

“Both fillies have come back well. We’ve just been waiting for the OSS. I think they’ll both do well in the Gold this year,” noted Darling.

Shadow Play, who stands at Winbak Farm in Inglewood, Ontario, was an outstanding racehorse during his career. He just had the misfortune to be born the same year as the best Ontario-sired pacer to ever look through a bridle, Somebeachsomewhere.

Shadow Play retired with $1.5 million in earnings and a summary of 20-9-5 from 49 lifetime starts. His victories included one of the most coveted races in the three-year-old pacing colt division, the Little Brown Jug, in addition to the Adios, Windy City and American National.

While his nemesis on the racetrack, Somebeachsomewhere, has gone on to become a top stallion, Shadow Play is certainly holding his own in his second career as a sire as well as Monday’s entrants show.

To view the complete card for Mohawk’s card on Monday, which also includes the first leg of the Summertime Series, click the following link: Monday Entries - Mohawk Racetrack.

(OSS)