Mares pace into Summerside
Shadows Mystery poised to be player in series
The first stop of the Atlantic Aged Pacing Mares Series is Sunday in Summerside.
The top aged mares in the region highlights the live card on harness racing tomorrow with an opening post time of 1 p.m.
The Contenders
Rambling Lily looks to be in midseason form after her victory last week in Charlottetown under the guidance of the crafty veteran driver Walter Cheverie. This duo stole a second quarter breather and hung on to win in 1:58 and change. Lily was just caught late in the mile in her season debut one week earlier in 1:56 3/5.
Shadows Mystery looks poised to be a major player in this series.
The Gordie Ford-owned, Jackie Matheson-trained open mare has hit the winner’s circle already this year in 1:56 and a piece. When you throw in the very talented Kenny Arsenault in the driver’s seat, good things will happen. Speaking of Arsenault, he’s just five wins away from the 3,000-win club. It could happen this weekend.
My colleague, Bo Ford, from our broadcast team, made a recent purchase for this series. Pretty N Dangerous has a couple of deuces in the open mares competition in Charlottetown and she’ll have rail control and Marc Campbell to boot.
Second Division
Woodmere Articblue is the overwhelming choice in the second division of this series. The Marc Campbell pupil dodged all the “bearcat mares” in her $3,870 split.
Miss Machqueen, conditioned by Jennifer Trainor, caught the classifier’s eye as the second choice in the morning line. This relatively new comer to the Island has had no luck racing the open mares in Charlottetown. She raced on Thursday and finished third in a conditioned event.
Veteran horse owner Alex MacPhee sends Jinglewriter to Summerside on Sunday. This will be the mare’s first attempt in the open category and she has done well in the overnight. This, however, is a date with the big girls.
The Finals
The Maritime Breeder Finals are tonight at the driving park in Charlottetown. In the three-year-old pacing filly division, the Marc Campbell trio of fillies are the one to beat. Electra Express check in as the morning-line favourite after her 1:55 4/5 score in last week’s elimination.
Ryan Ellis will get the catch driving call on this filly while Campbell has elected to drive Filly Forty Seven, who was a divisional winner last week in 1:56 1/5.
Campbell also has the favourite in the three-year-old pacing colt final. The undefeated Island Energetic, who is fivefor-five this season, is the one to beat. This colt needed every inch of the mile last week to win for Campbell and his connections. Both divisional final carry a purse of more than $20,000.00….Good Luck.
Flashback
It was deemed the race of the century. On a cool and wet September evening at the Charlottetown Driving Park, 10,000 fans awaited the outcome. The participants were: a Mascar sponsored by A.L.C., thoroughbred and jockey Lloyd Duffy, Standardbred and former world record holder and sprinter Ben Johnson.
The outcome would go to the thoroughbred by the narrowest of margins over Johnson, the Standardbred got the show prize and the Mascar never got off the gate and was left spinning his tires. Considering the conditions on that night, the turnout was amazing.