Outlaw C My Shadow overshadowed 4-5 bettors' choice Itll Be Fine as trainer Connie Kolthammer's Fraser Downs favouring homebred pacer was a determined winner in this week's edition of the $10,000 Open Handicap Pace on Friday, April 25.
Outlaw C My Shadow left sharply from the inside post while Itll Be Fine fired from post six and they emerged ahead of the rest before the first turn with the heavy favourite clearing to command for driver Dave Hudon. But Tyson Jacoby quickly countered and Outlaw C My Shadow looped to the lead through the contested :26.3 first quarter. There was no catching Outlaw C My Shadow from there as he cruised through middle splits of :55.3 and 1:23 with a two-length advantage, leaving his rivals chasing the minor spoils as he widened his margin to three lengths and reported home in 1:52 flat. Itll Be Fine settled for second while Brace For Impact (Robert Scrannage) held for third over last week's Open winner Tzilacatzin (Brandon Campbell) in a show photo.
Outlaw C My Shadow was the 8-1 third choice in the field of seven and returned $18.20 for the mild upset. The eight-year-old Shadow Play-Grand Slam Woman gelding earned his second win of the season to go along with fourth-place finishes in his four other starts.
The 25-time career winner, who had dominated the Open ranks at Fraser with a streak of 11 in a row two years ago, is owned by Outlaw West Stable of Falun, Alta. Friday's triumph marked his first at the Open level since.
Earlier on the card, a pair of pacers continued current win streaks with dominant performances of their own.
Simone Urquhart's lightly raced homebred three-year-old Captain Keys ($2.30) is off to a perfect start this season, winning five races in a row with his Friday night score in a career-best 1:53.4. Driver Allan Molloy, aboard the sophomore now for back-to-back starts, put the streaking favourite on the lead after being parked the first quarter and never looked back en route to a 7-1/4-length victory in a $6,500 class for non-winners of two or $24,000 lifetime. Paul Urquhart trains the Captain Deo-Keys Please gelding, who is now six-for-eight lifetime.
Trainer Erik Neyhart's five-year-old pacer Tahuya Devil ($2.40) has now won eight straight dating back to December after a 1:54.4 wire-to-wire victory in a $7,500 conditioned & claiming pace. Scott Knight has driven the son of American Ideal out of Sweet Devil for the duration of his win streak, including seven successful outings this season. He's now 13-for-18 lifetime.
The Fraser Downs spring meet wraps up next week with live harness racing on Thursday and Friday evenings.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click the following link: Friday Results - Fraser Downs.
(Standardbred Canada)