CHARLOTTETOWN, PE – A cagey harness racing veteran will take on a pair of four-year-olds fresh off the biggest trips of their lives in the preferred pace Saturday evening at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park on Harness The Hope night.
The 14-dash action packed card has a 6 P.M. first race post time.
Red Shores Charlottetown is the host location for the 1st annual Harness the Hope. The event is a fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer society of PEI in support of breast cancer. The evening will feature many special trackside presentations, auction items, merchandise, prize draws and even the Bouncy Pony stakes featuring harness racing drivers riding inflatable ponies after race 3. Customers can also buy keys to see if their key will open one of the pink boxes filled with grand prizes.
A field of five female drivers, dressed in pink, will compete with five female horses to kick off Harness The Hope night in race 1. The top female driver in Eastern Canadian harness racing, Clare MacDonald, has the rail with Scoot Out Of Here, while Charlottetown's Ambyr Campbell leaves from post 2 with HP Rubis Joyce. Avid Yankee has post 3 with Ontario catch driver Natasha Day flying in for the night, and Nova Scotia's Tammy MacKay drives Cougar Gal from post 4. Completing the field is Marie Brooking of Ontario driving Bugtown Superstar from post 5.
In other racing action, the race 13 preferred pace, presented by McWade Racing and Bayfield Street Alumni, carries a $3,100 purse and Euchred is pegged the morning line favourite from post 3 with David Dowling back in the bike for owner Kayla Habicht Walker of Inverness, N.S. The seven-year-old son of Shadow Play has hit the board in his last four outings since his last win on June 15, but will be looking for the top spot in Saturday's contest. Half Cut has rail control as the four-year-old son of Stonebridge Terror was just a third place finisher Saturday evening in the Lindsay Construction Cup Invitational at Truro Raceway in Nova Scotia, pacing his own mile in 1:52.4 for driver Mark Bradley and trainer Tom Weatherbie.
Sock It Away was superb his last start in the preferred pace at Red Shores Charlottetown but has post 7 to contend with for driver Marc Campbell and trainer Kevin MacLean. The four-year-old son of Pang Shui was never better than he was that night as he took a new record of 1:53.2.
Race analyst Les MacIsaac agrees with the morning line analysis and will side with Euchred to land on top of the ticket.
"Euchred hasn't been able to set up shop on the front end in recent starts and that's greatly contributed to four straight races without a win, an eternity for this guy," MacIsaac said. "He has a much better chance of getting there tonight from this favourable post and if so, it could be all over."
Also in the field is Screen Test (Corey MacPherson), Bugsy Maguire (Adam Merner), Czar Seelster (Kenny Arsenault) and Burn Out Hanover (Dale Spence) and Rollwithitharry (Gilles Barrieau). The Rollwithitharry racing team will also present a cheque in honor of Harness The Hope after ownership shares were sold on the stallion to raise money for the fundraiser.
Driver Gilles Barrieau will be special guest on the Inside Track with host Lee Drake. The interview segment will air at 5:35pm on the Red Shores broadcast.
For live programs, and further details go to www.Redshores.ca.
Stakes Bonanza Sunday At Red Shores Summerside
SUMMERSIDE, PE – The top two year-old pacers and the top stakes trotters on the Eastern Seaboard will converge on Red Shores at the Summerside Raceway on Sunday afternoon for stakes action.
The 13-dash Sunday card kicks off at 1 P.M. featuring stakes contests in every race.
The Callbeck stakes for two-year-old pacing fillies start the day off in race 1 as Saulsbrook Ocean leaves from post 3 in the $7,100 event with Dale Spence in the bike for trainer Joe Baxter of Windsor, N.S. The daughter of Westwardho Hanover was a winner her latest start in 1:59.3 in Atlantic Sires Stakes action at Truro Raceway in Nova Scotia.
The other $7,100 Callbeck filly divisions line up in races 5, 9 and 12.
Woodmere Rollnpop was large in his Atlantic Sires Stakes division last week at Truro but has to overcome the outside post 7 in his $6,900 Callbeck two-year-old pacing colt division in race 13. Clare MacDonald will again handle her trainee in the field of seven after a 1:58.1 lifetime best on July 19.
Other $6,900 Callbeck rookie pacing colt divisions go postward in races 3, 7 and 11 on the Sunday program.
In trotting action, Mabou Ridge will try to remain perfect in his $6,100 Callbeck division for two-year-old trotters in race 2 with MacDonald again at the controls. The son of Armbro Barrister has yet to taste defeat in his two career tries.
Go With Her and trainer-driver Kuri White is favoured in the second two-year-old trot Callbeck split in race 6.
Also on the card is the Tyndale Semple Memorial stake for three-year-old trotters with $5,700 divisions in races 4, 8 and 10. The fastest Maritime Bred trotter ever on the East Coast, Gettin Messi, has rail control in race 8 with Mike McGuigan handling the driving duties for trainer Len McGuigan.
Driver Jason Hughes will be special guest on Inside Track with host Rocky Schurman. The interview segment airs at 12:35pm on the Red Shores broadcast.
Catch the action live at the track or tune into the worldwide broadcast at www.Redshores.ca.
By Nicholas Oakes and Lee Drake