Owner Pam Wagner collected four wins this past weekend in Virginia Breeder's championship events at Shenandoah Downs ---- two with trotters and two with pacers --- as $684,225 in purse monies were distributed among eight title clashes for freshmen and sophomores of both sexes. It was the richest Breeder's showcase edition in the event's 24 years.
Wager scored with Kelseys For Real in the $83,600 Three-Year-Old Filly Pace, Anthonys All In in the $86,325 Two-Year-Old Colt Pace, Shes All Woman in the $85,125 Two-Year-Old Filly Trot and K J Diamond in the $84,600 Three-Year-Old Filly Trot.
Kelseys For Real surged past 2020 divisional champ Madisonsallin and front-stepping K J Katherine past the half-mile mark on Saturday to capture her fifth lifetime score in 1:58.3. The daughter of Rustys For Real, trained by John Wagner and driven by Jared Moyer, finished one length ahead of Madisonsallin. K J Katherine finished third. The Wagners train and own all three.
Betting favourite Anthonys All In won his fifth straight race against a full field of eight two-year-old colt pacers with a tight neck finish over Big N Bad Brad in 1:59.2. The Rustys All In colt was just three weeks removed from winning the $70,000 Maryland Sire Stake finals at Ocean Downs. John Wagner trains and piloted the winner. He also trains the runner-up. William Fletcher's Roddy Boy B finished third.
Shes All Woman wired the field in the freshman filly pace and won handily by 4-3/4 lengths in 2:04.4. The daughter of Anders Bluestone won her prep a week earlier by 11-1/2 lengths and did not disappoint in the final. K J Stolen Diamond was second and Robert White's Antares Star finished third.
K J Diamond shook off a slow start and rebounded just in time to catch heavily favoured Pride Of Windswept in the sophomore filly trot. The winner, trained and driven by Victor Kirby, was three-for-17 entering the title match while John Swart & Sarah Swart's Pride Of Windswept was 15-for-17. The winner, a daughter of Keystone Activator, crossed in 1:59.3, a half-length the best. Debbie Warnick's Armed Senorita finished third.
Caviart Farms had a pair of championship wins on Saturday with Caviart Carmel and Caviart Sargent in the respective $85,900 Two-Year-Old Filly Pace and $85,600 Three-Year-Old Colt/Gelding Pace. Marna Shehan trains the pair. Fern Paquet Jr. drove the former to victory while Tyler Shehan drove the latter.
Caviart Carmel beat stablemate Caviart Lizzie by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:57 after both swept to the outside before three-quarters and eased by front-stepping Janets For Real. The Always B Mikki filly won her fifth straight start is now five-for-seven in her young career. The first three came at Pocono and the most recent two in Woodstock.
Caviart Sargent, a wire-to-wire winner in the prep, got a pocket trip through the first half of Saturday's race before taking the lead from George & Rose Bonomo's Caviart Skipper and cruising to a one-length victory in 1:55.1. The Well Said gelding collected his eighth career win and saw his bankroll surge past the $140,000 mark. Caviart Skipper was runner-up and Pam Wagner's Harveys All In was third.
Jane Dunavant left Shenandoah Downs with a pair trophies and the winner's share of the purse in the $86,675 Two-Year-Old Colt/Gelding Trot and $84,400 Three-Year-Old Colt/Gelding Trot.
Big Daddy D took care of business from the start in the freshman clash Friday, wiring the field in 2:04 in his second career start. In the prep, the Dusty Winner gelding trailed by 10 at the half but came back to prevail in a sloppily contested race. The winner is trained and driven by Carlo Poliseno. Pam Wagner's Jas Bluestone was second and Cary Grady's His Gideon took third.
Poliseno led Vlahos to a wire-to-wire score in the sophomore title bout, beating 2020 champ Trents A Lock by 1-1/2 lengths in 2:00.2. The Dusty Winner gelding triggered fractions of :29.1, :59.2 and 1:30.2 on the front end. Ashley Page's Sunshineonmyshoulder finished third.
The 2021 Shenandoah Downs meet continues through October 16 with racing every Friday at 3:30 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. Races are streamed live at shenandoahdowns.com and replays are based on the website. Wagering is available at the track and Virginia OTBs.
(With files from Shenandoah)