Prince Edward Island, CA – Driver Brad Forward and trainer Rene Allard, the winning connections of the 2014 Sobeys Gold Cup & Saucer, teamed up with Australian import Crombie A to set a new track record of 1:50.3 in this year's first trial on Saturday at Red Shores Racetrack & Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
Leaving from the post five, Crombie A and Forward were able to settle into the pocket spot behind inside starter Im Drinkin Doubles (Marc Whebby), who led the field of six through fractions of :26.4, :54.4 and 1:22.2. Meanwhile, outsider Atta Boy Dan (Marc Campbell) advanced first over with The Rev (Danny Romo) following his cover. However, Crombie A closed through the passing lane to prevail by one and a half lengths while favourite Atta Boy Dan overtook Im Drinkin Doubles for the runner-up role. The Rev finished fourth while All Turain (Corey MacPherson) was fifth and Modern Xhibit (Robert Shepherd) rounded out the complete order of finish.
"He's a pretty handy little horse," added Allard. "He gets around a half real good and since we bought him from Australia he's just been awesome. We never left with him because those horses are known to get a little hot if you leave with them when you first get them. But today was a short field and I told Brad I think we should leave a little bit because it only showed the #1 [Im Drinkin Doubles] and the #6 [Atta Boy Dan] had a little bit of gate speed and Brad got the job done again. We hope everything works out for the final and we're just happy to be here. We're having fun either way, but it's always nice to win it."
Crombie A's winning time lowered the track record by one-fifth of a second that was held jointly by last year's Gold Cup & Saucer champion Bigtown Hero, 2013 champion Escape The News and 2014 trial winner Mickey Hanover. It also matched Prix d'Ete champion Sunfire Blue Chip's Canadian record for an aged pacing horse on a half-mile track, set at Hippodrome 3R in Quebec last year.
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