Reflect With Me would not be denied, emerging victorious in a fierce stretch battle with stablemate Lady Lou to capture the $90,525 Shady Daisy for three-year-old pacing fillies and kick off the stakes action on the 2020 Hambletonian Day card of harness racing at The Meadowlands.
Peaky Sneaky (Dexter Dunn) set sharp early fractions of :26 and :54.1 with Lady Lou (Brian Sears) in the pocket and New Year (Corey Callahan) settled into third. Just past the half, driver Andy McCarthy edged 1/9 favourite Reflect With Me to the outer flow and forged first up. Sears angled Lady Lou from the pocket just before Peaky Sneaky hit the third quarter in 1:22.
Turning for home, Lady Lou powered past pace-setting Peaky Sneaky but then faced the fresh threat of Reflect With Me heading for the wire. Both fillies battled valiantly but Reflect With Me was just too good and hit the wire a half-length ahead of her stablemate in 1:48.3. New Year closed well for third.
Trained by Tony Alagna, Reflect With Me (Captaintreacherous - Remember When) is now unbeaten in four seasonal starts for breeder-owner Brittany Farms LLC of Versailles, Ky. and co-owner Brad Grant of Milton, Ont. The winner's share of the purse puts Reflect With Me's lifetime earnings at $817,008.
The Shady Daisy is one of many stakes contested on the Hambletonian Day card at The Meadowlands. Read about the rest of the action in the Hambletonian Day News Centre.