Two Indiana sired geldings shocked racing fans at their respective tracks as Luvnmysharkaway was a winner at Oak Grove and Shady’s Shark Bait was a winner at Harrington Monday, April 17. Both horses were overlooked by the betting public paying double digits to their backers.
Shadys Shark Bait comes back to the winner’s circle for his first win of 2023 at Harrington Raceway.
At Oak Grove Racing, Luvnmysharkaway and Devon Tharps were ready to roll when the gate folded and went straight to the lead. They set fractions of :28.4 with Joe McDude and James Stiltner II lurking on the outside. Then at the half, Racemup and Joey Putnam came up to challenge in :57.1, but Luvnmysharkaway kept on rolling.
In the stretch, Luvnmysharkaway was not giving in and fended off challengers for the win by one length in 1:56.4. Rockin Bambi made it an Indiana sired exacta to finish second for Terry Skinner while Joe McDude finished third.
Luvnmysharkaway paid $47.66 for the win. The nine-year-old Shadyshark Hanover is owned by Julie Whitman of Tennessee and was bred by Shady Lane Meadows. Gary Campbell trains Luvnmysharkaway, who has two wins now for 2023 and 23 wins overall. His career best time was taken at three in 1:52.0 at Harrah’s Hoosier Park.
Moving to the East Coast, Shady’s Shark Bait was last to first in his win. The seven-year-old Shadyshark Hanover gelding had no interest in getting up close early as Hey Run Me Over and Tony Morgan established the pace. Heading to the half, Shady’s Shark Bait moved out to follow cover and was on the outside for the second half of the year. As the field moved into the final turn, Shady’s Shark Bait and Pat Berry were not moving up like they wanted to, so they swung three-wide and blew right by their opponents, opening up in the stretch for the win by two and one-quarter lengths in 1:55.1. Karen Kirby owns and Tom Kirby trains. He was bred by TKO Racing Stable of Indiana and paid $70.60 for the win.
It was the first trip to the winner’s circle for Shady’s Shark Bait in 2023. Overall, he has 15 career wins and more than $150,000 in earnings. He only had one start as a two-year-old and took time getting ready for racing. His career best time of 1:51.2 was taken as a five-year-old at Dover Downs.