Mohawk: Lady Shadow wins second straight Roses Are Red

Lady Shadow made an easy lead to the surprise of everyone, including her driver Yannick Gingras, and went on to a 1:48 1/5 victory in the C$370,000 Roses Are Red final for pacing mares on Saturday night at Mohawk Racetrack. It was the second consective win in the event for the O'Brien Award winner.

The only two mares to step quickly away from the gate were rail starter Waasmula (Trevor Henry) and Lady Shadow, who began from post three, and Lady Shadow would clear Waasmula for control before the 26 3/5 opening quarter. Lady Shadow would go on to reach the half in 54 1/5 and the three-quarters in 1:21 flat while never facing a serious first-over threat.

Through the stretch Lady Shadow drifted out, as she usually does, but she remained clear the entire way, beating Waasmula by a length and a quarter in the end. Solar Sister (Doug McNair), Ms Mac N Cheese (Corey Callahan), and Anndrovette (Tim Tetrick) rounded out the top five.

"Believe me, I was surprised too that there was no speed on the outside," said Gingras. "I haven't driven her, but I watched a few of her replays, and I looked at her lines from last year and before that. I was actually thinking about racing her out the back, especially with the way the card has been playing out. The front hasn't been that good, but obviously she is better on the front, her lines show that. When the gate folded nobody left, so that made my decision really easy.

"My mare felt real strong still at the top of the stretch. I knew she had another good quarter in her, and I figured the back field had to work pretty hard through the middle half just to get close, so I was confident, but I wasn't counting my chickens yet."

Ron Adams trains Lady Shadow, a 5-year-old daughter of Shadow Play, for owners David Kryway, Carl Atley, Ed Gold, and BFJ Stable. Lady Shadow is now a 19-time winner from 44 starts, and she has earned C$1,080,541. Sent off at 4-1, Lady Shadow returned $10,50 for the victory.