Shadow World emerged from thick fog in deep stretch with a narrow lead and held on for a 22-1 upset in Thursday’s opening leg of the Niagara Series at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
A full field of 10 three-year-old pacing fillies clashed in the $17,000 first round of the three-week series event. Foggy conditions made it hard to see what transpired over the course of the contest, but how the race was won doesn’t matter to the connections collecting the winner’s share of the purse.
Shadow World and driver Sylvain Filion left hard from post-eight and were able to settle in second behind Miss Rockadali, who cut out fractions of :27.4, :58.1 and 1:26.3. Odds On Stephanie challenged first up on the far turn, which towed Thrillonthebeach into a perfect second-over spot.
In the stretch, Shadow World was able to split between rivals after the two-hole trip and powered home to defeat Odds On Stephanie by a neck in 1:54.2. Thrillonthebeach finished third, while Protect Blue Chip was fourth.
A daughter of Shadow Play, Shadow World collected her third win in 25 starts this season and her fourth career victory. The Colin Johnson trainee has now banked $52,136 in 25 starts this season for owners Johnson and Jean Mondoux.
Shadow World’s career earnings jumped to $63,937 with Thursday’s score, while the clocking of 1:54.2 was just one-fifth of a second off her career best. She paid $46 to win.
Sophomore pacing fillies, who were non-winners of $60,000 lifetime as of October 31, 2018, were eligible for nomination to the Niagara Series. The final of the series will take place on a special Boxing Day matinee program.
Live harness racing continues Friday evening at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Post time is 7:10 p.m.
To view the results from Thursday's card at Mohawk, click the following link: Thursday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(Woodbine)