The first leg of the Mark Austin Pacing Series kicked off at Dresden Raceway with two divisions racing for $5,000 each.
Shadow Warrior and Alfie Carroll went wire to wire in fractions of :28.4, :59.1 and 1:29.4 for a three-length win in 2:00. The three-year-old Shadow Play gelding is co-owned by Chris Cain and Keith Cullen of London while Cullen does the training. Cain and Cullen partnered on last year's Austin Series winner Dreaming Out Loud. Shes Got The Luck and Garrett Rooney finished second while Watch Party and Preston Shaw were third.
Carroll was at the controls for Shes A Comedian in the second division and never led by less than three in another front-stepping win by 12 lengths in 1:58.1. The three-year-old Hes Watching filly, who is owned by Ron Nobes of Fergus and Greg Holmes of Bayfield and trained by Randy Marriage, cut fractions of :28.4, :58.2 and 1:28.1.
I Dunno and Issac Waxman were second while Toonie Teen and Chris Johnston paid on the show ticket.
"They are both really nice race horses." said Carroll. "They both have good speed and can leave which is so important, but more so at a half mile track like Dresden."
Carroll is honoured to have a chance to drive the Austin Series. "I never knew Mark very well but nobody ever said a bad word about him and everybody respected him as a good guy and a great horseman." he said.
The second leg of the series, for non-winners of a race or $5,000 lifetime as of March 31, 2021, is set for next week with a 1:00 p.m. (EDT) post time while the $15,900 final is scheduled for July 4.
Dresden's handle increased over 35 percent from last week with a total handle of $18,638 this Sunday.
(Dresden Raceway)
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Dresden Raceway.