Trainer Jack Fisher is having a good summer season at the Colonial Downs racetrack, and winning the $50,000 Zeke Ferguson on July 16 helped make the drive from his farm in Maryland worth the effort.

Fisher had two entries for the 2 1/4-mile hurdle grade III stakes held on the New Kent, Va., course–Harold Via’s Good Night Shirt and Cohiba Stable’s Mark The Shark.

Mark The Shark was the betting favorite by far, possibly because the little chestnut had run on the flat at Colonial Downs weeks before, or perhaps they just liked saying the name. In any case, at flag fall Mark The Shark and jockey William Dowling did not disappoint, running some 5 lengths ahead of the field for much of the race to the joy of the boisterous crowd.

But as they made the turn for home, with one more fence to go, the field swallowed up Mark The Shark, and stablemate Good Night Shirt (Xavier Aizpuru) took over for the Fisher barn.

After the last, Good Night Shirt dug in with Class Vantage (Richard Boucher) on his heels, but Class Vantage would have to settle for second 21�2 lengths back. Mark The Shark rallied for third with Hawk Hill (Jody Petty) placing fourth. Boucher claimed foul on Aizpuru for interference near a flag, but it was disallowed.

Bettors were extremely happy as longshot Good Night Shirt paid a handsome $12.20 for the win. Class Vantage paid $7.80 and Mark The Shark was third at $4.80 for place. For those lucky enough to play the superfecta, picking all four horses, they had a cool $4,878.80.

Good Night Shirt has been on the hurdle circuit all year and even entered the Triple Crown series of steeplechasing, coming in third at the Carolina Cup (S.C.) on April 1, then second at the Middleburg Spring Races (Va.) two weeks later, and finally finishing the series with a fifth at the Radnor Hunt Races (Pa.) on May 20.

Aizpuru, who rode the horse all three times, said the courses at Middleburg and Radnor weren’t really suited for the big 5-year-old son of Concern.

“I am not convinced that the three tracks where they run the Triple Crown of steeplechasing are the best tracks for him, especially when you think about how he runs,” Aizpuru said. “Camden is more like Colonial Downs, but Middleburg has a lot of hills, and at Radnor you are always on the turn. He is such a big horse he could never get it together; it was just a complete disaster. I knew he was better than that.”

Aizpuru was actually glad the speedy Mark The Shark was in the field. “With Mark The Shark in there, I knew we would have a genuine pace,” he said. “I got him to relax early on. He jumped great. Jumping was a bit of an issue with him in the beginning of his career because he is such a big horse it just didn’t come that naturally to him. But to be fair to the guys in Jack’s yard, they have worked very hard with the horse. He is very straightforward at all his fences now.”

Fisher was equally pleased with the horses, who are both bound for Saratoga Springs (N.Y.) in August.

With this win, Fisher now has moved into first place in the National Steeplechase Association’s trainer, money-won category, knocking Kinross Farm’s Neil Morris, who has dominated all spring with his two $150,000 stakes wins, into second place.

Fisher is at $341,050 while Morris is at $334,375. Fisher increased his trainer, races- won lead to 16 wins over Pennsylvania trainer Sanna N. Hendriks, who is at 13 wins. Pennsylvania trainer Jonathan Sheppard, who won at Colonial Downs on July 25 with Sovereign Duty (Danielle Hodsdon), is tied for third with Middleburg trainer Doug Fout at 12 wins for the year.

Before the $50,000 Zeke Ferguson, Fout had another win with jockey Matt McCarron. The pair has teamed up several times for the Sunday races, and this time Brigadoon Stable’s Zhukov finished in the winner’s circle in the maiden hurdle race.

Named for the great military leader Georgy Zhukov, who lead the Soviet Red Army to victory over the Nazis in World War II, Zhukov the horse showed a great deal of fire in the stretch, battling with three other closers. In the end, Zhukov was half a length ahead over Perry Bolton’s Gigger (Cyril Murphy), who is trained by Tom Voss.

The 6-year-old New Zealand-bred seemed like he could go another mile.

“This was only the second time I ever sat on him,” McCarron said. “I guess he came with the reputation of being a sheer run off in the trail races back home in New Zealand. Everybody has worked really hard at Doug’s to get him to relax and he settled pretty well. He’s tough in the stretch.

“He is very smart, very self preserving and jumped nice and careful. He has enough of a relentless gallop that he was able to hold off the closers. At first I wasn’t quite sure if I was able to get around the Voss horse, but he was a good boy.”

Fout and McCarron also won two–the first with Beverly Steinman’s Dark Equation in the $15,000 maiden hurdle and then with Brigadoon Stable’s Lone Arrow in the $20,000 optional claiming hurdle.

Dark Equation is headed for the $50,000 stakes race for Pennsylvania-bred only horses at Philadelphia Park (Pa.) on July 29, then on to Saratoga, where he will join Fout’s prize stakes horse and two-time Eclipse winner Hirapour, who is returning after surgery this winter.

The summer season of eight race meets at Colonial started off a battle of the sons of Dynaformer on June 18. The first to win was Armata Stable’s Dynaway (Murphy) in the $15,000 maiden hurdle. Trained by Voss, the 5-year-old made most of the pace on the front end and was only challenged by Jodi Rowland’s Suntara, who took second mopre than 4 lengths back.

Next, a 6-year-old son of Dynaformer–Rare Bush–graced the winner’s circle. Aizpuru kept Rare Bush out of trouble for most of the race and moved up in the stretch to catch Murphy and Fitzhugh Stable’s Ginz by a nose at the wire.