Partyintheshadows handles sloppy track at H3R
At 10h57, on October 9, 2023 • By Steven Wolf
Racing over a sloppy, rain-soaked track with a three second allowance by the Judges, Partyintheshadows (Shadow Play) was able to grind it out first-over against pacesetter D Gs De Vito in capturing the Preferred Pace feature Sunday (Oct. 8) at the Hippodrome 3R.
The 6th race feature saw Shanghaibluebeach (Marie-Claude Auger) go right to the early lead with Delicate Sound (Pascal Berube) grabbing the pocket-seat.
Then it was D Gs De Vito and driver Jonathan Lachance coming first-over and taking command of the field by the first quarter in :29. Following second-over from the start was Partyintheshadows.
As they raced to the half mile, the 1/9 favorite Partyintheshadows and driver Robert Shepherd moved up first-over, giving second-over cover to GA Speed Gaby (Francis Picard), who was trying for his fifth straight win. The half mile went in :58.2.
Down the backstretch D Gs De Vito continued to lead the field with Partyintheshadows looking him right in the eyes when they passed the three-quarters in 1:28 with GS Speed Gaby swinging three-wide to try and mount a challenge.
In the stretch drive, Partyintheshadows and Shepherd finally wore down pacesetter D Gs De Vito and went on to win by half a length in 1:58.2. D Gs De Vito held for second place with GS Speed Gaby third.
It was the third win this season for Partyintheshadows, who is trained by David Pilon for owner Francois Morin and paid $2.30 to win. It was also the fastest mile on the card Sunday.
Trainer David Pilon and driver Robert Shepherd combined in each scoring three wins on the card. All three wins for Shepherd were with horses trained by Pilon. With his three wins, David Pilon, who was tied at 23 wins each with Marc-Andre Simoneau, took the lead as top trainer, now with 25 wins to Simoneau’s 24 wins.
Track Notes: Pascal Berube had a driving double Sunday. Live harness racing resumes at H3R next Sunday, October 15 with first race post time at 12:00 noon.
