(Photo of driver Jack Moiseyev and Gottalovemyshadow courtesy of New Image Media)
Three-year-old pacing filly Gottalovemyshadow picked the perfect time to deliver a peak effort, posting her first lifetime victory in the $19,500 Grassroots opener at Mohawk Racetrack on Monday evening.
“I always kind of liked her, she’s just had little problems, but now, she seems to be hitting on all eight now,” said trainer-driver Jack Moiseyev after the victory.
Starting from Post 7, Gottalovemyshadow and Moiseyev got away from the starting gate in fourth, but had taken command of the race before the half-way marker. The duo never faced a serious challenge and cruised home two and one-quarter length winners in 1:53.3. Rose Run Samantha stalked Gottalovemyshadow throughout the mile to secure second and Kloof Street closed hard to claim third-place honours.
The win came in Gottalovemyshadow’s fourth lifetime start. The Shadow Play daughter made her debut at Mohawk on April 20, finishing fifth, followed that up with a third-place result on May 4 and then tested her mettle against the province’s best in the May 13 SBOA Stake eliminations, finishing fourth and earning a berth in the final. However, she came up sick before the May 20 Final and missed battling for a share of the $132,130 purse.
“We give her a try last year and she was just immature. I liked her, she showed a lot of speed, she just wasn’t matured enough, so we turned her out and brought her back,” said Moiseyev of the filly’s tardy arrival to the races. “I’m kind of hoping she turns into a Gold filly in a couple starts, you know.”
The Moffat resident conditions Gottalovemyshadow for Joanne Colville and her daughter Emma Christoforou of Moffat and Nancy MacNevin of Essex, ON. The partners acquired the striking chestnut filly at the 2015 Forest City Yearling Sale for a sum of $19,000, of which Gottalovemyshadow has now repaid $14,130.
C Mary opened the Ontario Sires Stakes festivities in the evening’s second race, rolling off cover at the top of the stretch and getting a head in front of pacesetter Deprived in a personal best 1:53.1 Southwind Geo rounded out the top three.
Campbellville, ON resident Chris Christoforou, Jr. piloted Mach Three daughter C Mary to her first Ontario Sires Stakes win and fourth lifetime victory for trainer Tim Myers of Leamington, ON and owner-breeder J R Stables LLC of Clinton Township, MI.
Campbellville resident Mike Saftic also scored a Grassroots win on Monday, guiding Manhattan Play to her first success of the season in a personal best 1:52.3. The Shadow Play daughter took command of the race heading by the three-quarters and sailed under the finish one and one-quarter lengths ahead of Loves Angel and another length ahead of Style Snapshot.
Saftic engineered the win for trainer Nicky Comegna of Cambridge and owner Bruno Comegna of Burlington, ON. A Gold Series competitor at two, Manhattan Play boosted her lifetime earnings to $44,266 with her second lifetime victory.
The final piece of Grassroots hardware was awarded to Shewearsthepants, who overcame the outside Post 10 with a late rush that saw her reel in fan favourite Treasures Pearl. Like the other three division winners, Shewearsthepants posted a personal best 1:53, hitting the wire one and three-quarter lengths ahead of her rivals. P L Kahluaa completed the top three.
Trainer Gregg McNair and his son, driver Doug McNair, both of Guelph, ON, engineered the victory for owner-breeders Anatolia Farm LLC of New Holland, PA. The Big Jim daughter was also a Grassroots winner at two, earning her first provincial victory last August at Mohawk.
The fillies will make their second Grassroots start at Grand River Raceway on June 19, while Ontario Sires Stakes action returns to Mohawk on Thursday, June 1 with two Gold Series divisions for the three-year-old pacing fillies. The fillies will battle in Races 3 and 6 on Thursday’s program, which gets under way at 7:30 pm.
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