Kat’s Fancy Breaks Record at Shenandoah Downs During Virginia Breeder’s Championship Weekend

The 2025 Virginia Breeder’s 3-Year-Old Championship weekend at Shenandoah Downs closed out the spring harness racing season in dramatic fashion, highlighted by a track-record performance from Jane Dunavant’s Kat’s Fancy in the $89,600 Filly Trot on Saturday.

Kat’s Fancy sets a new divisional track record in the $89,600 3-Year-Old Filly Trot (Darrell Wood photo)

The 3-year-old trotting filly charged to the front early and never looked back, finishing in 1:56 1/5—a new divisional track record and a personal best by three full seconds on a half-mile track. With Cody Poliseno in the sulky, Kat’s Fancy led through early splits of: 28 3/5, :58 2/5, and 1:29 1/5. Stablemate Peggy’s Girl and the race favorite, Caviart Glory, both challenged, but Kat’s Fancy held steady to win by half a length.

Caviart Glory, representing Caviart Farms and coming off a commanding 19-length prep win, moved into second after the half and stayed close throughout, while Scott Woogen’s K J The Thirteenth took third. Despite breaking stride in both elimination rounds, Kat’s Fancy—a Dusty Winner filly trained by Carlo Poliseno—delivered when it mattered most.

The afternoon continued with another thrilling performance in the $86,600 Colt/Gelding Trot, where HS Jesse, owned by Cary Grady, rallied past pacesetter Mane Man Charlie in the stretch. Trained and driven by Joseph Carroll, HS Jesse crossed 2-1/4 lengths ahead in 1:58 3/5, shaking off last year’s break in the freshman finale with a clean and confident trip.

On Sunday, Elwood Tignor and Deborah Mulligan’s Toys Little Tinker dominated the $91,100 Filly Pace. The Rusty’s For Real filly sat third heading into the final turn, then powered past frontrunners KJ Becky and Proper Lady to win by 5-1/4 lengths in 1:55 1/5. Trained and driven by Billy Carter, Toys Little Tinker has now won seven career races and earned over $121,000.

The early pace in that race was intense, with Proper Lady and KJ Becky locked in a nose-to-nose battle through fractions of: 26 3/5, :55.0, and 1:25 1/5. Both fillies had won earlier prep races, making them favorites, but they settled for second and third, respectively, behind Toys Little Tinker’s late kick.

The final major event of the weekend came in the $87,200 Colt Pace, where Britney Dillon’s Paxamillion lived up to the hype. After back-to-back blowout wins in the elimination rounds, the Sweet Lou gelding had to dig in for a neck victory over fast-closing Caviart Cash in 1:54 4/5. With Tyler Shehan in the bike, Paxamillion took the lead early and set fractions of :56 4/5, 1:26.0, and 1:54 4/5, improving to eight wins in 15 starts and lifting his lifetime earnings to $122,668. Bday, owned by Lucinda Belcher, placed third.

Beyond the championship events, Shenandoah Downs hosted four $20,000 Virginia Breeder’s Fund Aged Stakes over the weekend. On Sunday, Chuck Perry’s John’s Dream—already the winningest horse in Shenandoah Downs history—added to his legacy with a wire-to-wire victory in the pacing division, clocking 1:55 2/5 and capturing his 50th career win. In the second pacing division, Ivan Foltz’s Bgoing Away edged out Caviart Simon by a quarter-length, earning a new lifetime mark of 1:54 1/5.

Saturday’s aged trotting divisions saw Room4040 LLC’s Ellen’s Wish hold on for a half-length win in 1:58 2/5, while Geralds A Keeper, owned by Scott Woogen, dominated wire-to-wire in 1:59 1/5 with a 3-1/2 length margin. Leading driver Fern Paquet Jr. was at the reins for both victories.

The record-setting weekend brought a thrilling close to the 2025 spring meet in Woodstock. Racing action returns in the fall with the Virginia Breeder’s 2-Year-Old eliminations and finals, as well as the debut of the Virginia Sired Stakes for freshmen. The fall meet will run from September 13 through October 26, with schedules and racing applications available soon at shenandoahdowns.com.

(from Press Release)