Lady Shadow ($3.40) capped off the Saturday stakes action with an overpowering world record performance in the $229,900 Golden Girls for pacing mares.
The five-year-old millionaire daughter of Shadow Play completed the 1-1/8 miles contest in a dazzling 2:00.3 time, besting Always B Miki's world record by three-fifths of a second that he established earlier in the Haughton.
Inittowinafortune (Scott Zeron) and Front Damage Blues (Andy Miller) fired out from posts seven and eight with the latter clearing to command into a eye-popping :24.4 opening quarter. Meanwhile, Yannick Gingras had the 3-5 favourite Lady Shadow on the move early out of post five and worked to the top in the second panel. She hit the half-mile mark in :53 and raced to three-quarters in 1:20.4 while beginning to draw away from the rest of the field. Lady Shadow powered past the mile marker in a sizzling time of 1:47 flat -- which would equal the world record for mares in a one-mile race -- and kept on rolling to the four-length victory in 2:00.3 for the added distance. Solar Sister (Brian Sears) was an impressive runner-up as she closed from the backfield while Inittowinafortune finished nine lengths back in third and held off Devil Child (Trace Tetrick) in a photo finish. Katie Said (Brett Miller) was fifth to round out the winning combination for the Super Hive Five wager.
Commenting on the fast fractions in a post-race interview, Gingras said, "Wow! :24.4 parked, yeah that's a first. I didn't know actually until after the race how fast we went the first quarter. I knew it was fast, but I was just trying to take my time to get there. I know it was hard, but it wasn't a pressed [:24.4] to get there.
"If I knew it was [1]:47 flat I might have let her go a little bit down the stretch. I was just letting her pace. I knew I had a big lead so I wasn't chasing her and I didn't kick the ear plugs, I was just kind of letting her do it on her own, but that would have been cool to go [1]:46.4 or something."
Reigning Canadian divisional champion Lady Shadow, who also recently swept the Roses Are Red Stakes, notched her fourth straight victory for trainer Ron Adams and owners David Kryway of Amherstburg, Ont., Carl Atley of Xenia, Ohio, Edwin Gold of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, and Howard Taylor's Bfj Stable of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
When asked what kind of day he's had after winning the featured Meadowlands Pace with Control The Moment one race prior to Lady Shadow's record Golden Girls victory, longtime Standardbred owner Taylor said, "I think the greatest day anybody's ever had! I won a couple races in the early afternoon, I won the Sheppard with Ray Schnittker at Yonkers, then the last three races...Shamballa raced out of his mind and was second [in the Haughton], the Meadowlands Pace was the greatest thrill and I don't know... I don't want to go to sleep because I might get up and find out it was a dream!"