After having battled an eye infection which almost cost him his racing career, Tragically Shipp, who is better known as ‘Harry’ around the barn, will be looking to hit the wire first during a Racing Under Saddle exhibition race Friday night (August 29) at Mohawk Racetrack.

The RUS event, which is a non-wagering race that carries a purse of $5,000, will take place after Race 3 on Mohawk’s pari-mutuel program. Mohawk’s Friday card will kick off at 7:25 p.m. and the RUS exhibition race is expected to head to post at roughly 8:15 p.m.

Tragically Shipp, an eight-year-old son of the late Shipps Speed, has drawn Post 4 in the eight-horse race.

‘Harry,’ who was born at PineHorse Farm just outside of Wingham, Ont., is owned by David and Lynne Magee and Lee and Erin Watson (nee Magee). Lee is the gelding’s trainer of record. The bay will host rider Natalie Elliott in the irons on Friday night.

“For nine months, Harry battled an eye infection that we thought might put an end to his racing career,” Lynne told Trot Insider. “He was cared for daily by Erin to save his eyesight and possibly his eyes. Upon his return to the track this past June, he earned three seconds under harness. He was also being trained under saddle by Natalie Elliott from Clinton.”

Tragically Shipp came up big during Grand River Raceway’s Industry Day card on August 4 when he raced to a four and a half-length victory in 2:02.4 during the $2,700 International Trot, which featured riders from Finland, Belgium and America (a replay of the event appears below).

To view the entries for the RUS race at Mohawk on Friday, click here.

To get a free program page for the race, courtesy of TrackIT, click here.