Likely To Win favoured

Pacing mares, trotters also on Thursday feature

After toying with his rivals last week, Likely To Win has a target on his back against some freshly qualified foes Thursday night at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.

First-race post time for the 10-dash card is 6:30 p.m., with the Melissa Rennie-trained Likely To Win pegged as the morning-line favourite in the Race 9 featured event. Adam Merner drives the son of Western Terror for Nova Scotia owners Blenise Young and Lester Campbell, along with co-owner Jeffrey Campbell of Alberta.

Leaving from Post 3 in Thursday’s $2,000 featured pace, Likely To Win is fresh off a 1:56.1 win last Thursday in Charlottetown, but has some returning faces to go bridle-to-bridle with this week. Dial The Bossman is making the first start of his four-year-old season in the Thursday night feature from Post 2 for driver Jason Hughes and trainer Tom Weatherbie, and Machinthesand is making just his second start of his nineyear-old campaign from Post 5 with Ken Murphy at the reins. Race analyst Les MacIsaac likes the chances of Likely To Win to make a return to the winner’s circle.

“Likely To Win comes into this one off an impressive win where he was perfectly rated by Adam with all quarters in 29 seconds,” MacIsaac said. “He might be headed back to the front again, and if he gets there without being used too hard we won’t rule out a repeat.” Other entries include The Big Bite (driven by Kenny Arsenault), Keep Coming (Corey MacPherson) and Oh To Be Me (Gary Chappell).

Fillies, mares

The $2,350 Fillies and Mares Open Pace goes in Race 8. Atlantic aged pacing mares champion Brodys Leona will have rail control, with Corey MacPherson at the lines for trainer Kerry Taylor. Malabrigo has the support of classifier Gerard Smith as the morning-line favourite from Post 4 for trainer-driver Marc Campbell.

West River Ambyr ships in from Nova Scotia into Post 3 for driver Steven Shepherd and new trainer Harold Shepherd. Shadows Mystery (Gilles Barrieau) will make her first start back on red soil after racing the Ontario circuit late in 2017. The action-packed program also has the first trot race of the season in Race 7 as Freddie is the undisputed favourite, saddled with Post 7 in the $1,600 open trot. Campbell trains and drives the son of Majestic Son for owner Three Wisemen Stable of Kingston.

Other top entries include Frill Seeker (Kenny Arsenault) and Holy Molie Maggie (Walter Cheverie).