Eagle Jolt favoured tonight
Good Friday Three to make debut in Summerside on Sunday
The Drive For Charity continues tonight at Red Shores at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
First race post time is 6 p.m. for the 12-dash card with the evening feature lining up in Race 11 with seven pacers vying for top prize in the $2,100 race.
Eagle Jolt is the morning-line favourite with Charlottetown’s absolutely dominant driver in the seat. Marc Campbell trains and drives the Post 5 starter for owners Wilbur and Marie MacDonald, fresh off a third-place finish against Mr Irresistible and Adkins Hanover, who are both absent from action this week.
Elm Grove Kaboom has yet to finish worse than second in his four-year-old campaign for trainer-driver Earl Smith and gets Post 3 this week.
A potential sleeper in the field is Rash B Havior, leaving from Post 4 with Ken Murphy getting the catch driving call from trainer Michael Peters after competing his first two starts of the season in the preferred ranks.
“Eagle Jolt was a comfortable winner in his only start at this level when he was allowed to stroll through some pedestrian fractions,” said race analyst Les MacIsaac. “That won’t be the case tonight and he’ll probably be coming from off the pace but we’ll still treat him as the one to beat on the class drop.”
The evening back-up class has a tight-knit group of five pacers for a $1,800 purse in Race 7.
Mozartsplace was impressive in his three-year-old campaign with nine wins from 11 starts and now makes his four-yearold debut, reunited with driver Gilles Barrieau.
The Jackie Matheson-trainee draws Post 4 for owner Brad Duplisea and Shawn MacAdam, both of Charlottetown. Other top entries include Post 2 starter Simon Said, with Corey MacPherson aboard, and Sporty B Skipalong (Norris Rogers) with rail control.
SUMMERSIDE
Sunday is the first time we get to see Good Friday Three live in action at Red Shores at the Summerside Raceway.
First race post time is 1 p.m. for the 11-dash program and Good Friday Three makes his Maritime debut in the final event.
The $1,700 event has Wade Sorrie leaving from Post 3 with Good Friday Three for new owner Walter Simmons of Summerside.
The five-year-old son of Mach Three had been racing the Ontario circuit for trainer William Robinson, where he has already won in 1:55 this season over the half-mile oval at Western Fair Raceway in London, Ont.
The eight-time winner has a lifetime best of 1:51.4 over Mohawk Raceway in Campbellville, Ont., and will now attempt the road to Summerside’s signature race, The Governor’s Plate, in July.
Other entries include Jrs Hurricane with rail control, fresh off a 1:57.1 victory last Sunday in Summerside, for driver Kenny Arsenault and trainer J.C. Belliveau of New Brunswick, and Scotty Mach N from Post 7 with MacPherson at the lines in his East Coast debut for trainer Trevor Hicken.
The afternoon feature hits the track in Race 10 as Instant Shadow draws Post 4 to team up with catch-driver Gary Chappell for trainer Sifroi Melanson and owners Ultimate Stable and Robert Kyle, both of New Brunswick.
Mando Fun laid down torrid fractions last week in Summerside before being collared late in the mile. He will be looking for redemption from Post 2 with Dale Spence in the bike while last week’s runner-up, Machinthesand, has post 6 with Ken Murphy aboard.