Shamballa unleashed another late burst of speed to rally from last to first for his fifth consecutive victory in Mohawk Racetrack's $34,000 Preferred Pace on Saturday night.
Trained and driven by Rick Zeron, the 1-2 favourite had just one horse beaten early on and was shuffled to the back of the eight-horse field by three-quarters, but stormed home to prevail once again, completing his 1:49.3 mile with a :26-second final frame. Ultimate Beachboy (Jack Moiseyev) and Piston Broke (Trevor Henry) closed off cover in the stretch and finish second and third, respectively, after Shamballa sprinted past that pair on the far outside.
Riding a three-race Meadowlands win streak, Melmerby Beach (Paul MacDonell) was caught wide early on as he set sail for the lead over the quick-leaving Luck Be Withyou (Luc Ouellette) into a :26.2 first quarter. Melmerby Beach cleared to command ahead of Luck Be Withyou and Nirvana Seelster (Mike Saftic) as they raced into the backstretch and continued to lead the field past the half in :54.3 and then three-quarters in 1:22.2. Southwind Amazon (Doug McNair) was flushed from fourth to lead the outer flow and eventually took over the lead briefly into the stretch before the late-closers swept by.
Shamballa is now eight-for-11 in his five-year-old campaign racing for the Rick Zeron Stables and Tao Racing LLC. A 20-time career winner, the Somebeachsomewhere gelding has banked $267,940 in purse earnings.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Mohawk Racetrack.