Sharkalucchi edged out Watch And Pray in a photo finish to pull off the 18-1 upset and provide driver Gerry Hudon with his first victory in the $75,000 Western Canada Pacing Derby for three-year-old colts on Saturday night at Northlands Park.
One of three Keith Clark trainees in the field of eight, Sharkalucchi showed early gate speed from post four, but Watch And Pray (J.F. Gagne) crossed over in front after leaving just to his outside.
Watch And Pray led the field through fractions of :28.3, :59.3 and 1:29.1 with No Fear (Brandon Campbell) advancing first over from fourth, followed by elimination winner Cowboy Caper (Kelly Hoerdt) and Somethinsgoinon (Keith Clark), who fired three-wide down the backside.
But as the colts rounded the final turn, Hudon pulled his charge from the pocket and set his sights on chasing down the pacesetter in the stretch. Closing quickly on the outside, Sharkalucchi got by in the final strides to nab the victory over Watch And Pray in 1:58.1 over the frozen track. Sharkalucchi's other stablemate, elimination winner Playbook (Bobby Clark), was a hard-closing third.
"It was a great race," commented Hudon, who was confident he had the edge in the photo finish. "I liked the horse going in. I drove him three weeks ago and I really liked him that day and I thought with a good trip today he had a good shot at winning it. He responded excellent."
The Cams Card Shark-Bella Balucchi gelding, who sports a 4-5-5 record in 20 seasonal starts, is owned by his trainer and Doris McDougall of Cochrane, Alta. The lion's share of the purse boosted his bankroll to $64,146.
Sharkalucchi paid $38.90 to win.
The victory was the second in the row on the card for Hudon, who also scored with his own trainee
Timberline Court in the $9,700 Open Pace. The seven-year-old With Held gelding notched his fourth straight victory and 30th lifetime in 1:57.3 for the track's leading trainer and driver of the meet.
"The year started out real good, I had a few bumps in between, and it's starting to finish off good," said Hudon, who has recovered from multiple injuries suffered in a racing accident earlier this year. "I've got no complaints."
Hudon also co-owns the $325,729 earner with breeder R. Lynn Kowalevsky, Airdrie, Alta.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link:
Saturday Results - Northlands Park.