Woodmere Oleksiak extends streak
The win streak was extended to seven straight for Woodmere Oleksiak as the Island filly was victorious in recent stakes action in Nova Scotia.
David Dowling was back in the bike behind the Earl Wattstrained filly as she scored her seventh straight victory in a $7,367 George and Donnie Turner Memorial division last Friday at Truro Raceway in Bible Hill, N.S., for owners Hollis Newson of Cornwall, Windemere Farms of Hampshire and Nova Scotians Debbie Denney and Ric McNutt. The threeyear-old daughter of Articulator stopped the clock in 1:56 for a new lifetime best as she boosted her bankroll to $44,888 on the season.
Arc Light won the other Turner filly division in 1:56 for trainer-driver Marc Campbell.
Purple Poet found the wire first in his $7,242 Turner Memorial division for sophomore pacing colts in line to Kenny Arsenault in 1:58. Red Dirt Boomer won the other Turner three-year-old pacing colt split in 1:55.4 for his fifth win in a row for trainer-driver Gilles Barrieau and owner Daniel Ross of Belfast. The champion colt has $48,149 earned on the season.
The card also had a pair of special Nova Scotia Stake divisions for trotters with only two horses in each race. Short field or not, it was an historic event as Mabou Ridge became the fastest rookie trotter in the history of Atlantic Canadian harness racing. The $3,701 stake featured Tequila Tuesday (Myles Heffernan Sr.) cut out red hot splits of 29.2, 59.4 and 1:29.1, before Clare MacDonald and Mabou Ridge angled out to win in 2:00 flat, erasing Buckaroo's two-year-old Atlantic trotting record.
The Nova Scotia stake for three-year-old trotters had Dusty Lane Titan (Campbell) prevail in the $4,128 class in 2:01.2.
A tight-knit group of five pacing colts faced off in the Atlantic Sires Stakes on Saturday at Northside Downs in North Sydney, N.S., with the longest shot on the board coming out on top. Harry G swooped the field of two-year-old pacing colts in the $16,360 Atlantic Sires Stakes A division in line to Paul Langille. Tobins Rebel (driven by Gilles Barrieau) was second while Windemere Ryan (Adam Merner) was third.
The stakes trail continues this weekend with the Lady Slipper and Joe O'Brien Memorial Stakes for two-year-old pacers on Saturday at 6 p.m. on the final Saturday evening card of the season at Red Shores at the Charlottetown Driving Park. The Saturday programs switch to a 12:30 p.m. post time starting in October.
The Lady Slipper Stakes for trotters and the three-year-old pacing fillies, as well as the O'Brien Memorial for threeyear-old pacing colts and the Atlantic Aged Pacing Mares Series final, go at Red Shores at Summerside Raceway on Sunday afternoon.
ATLANTIC BREEDERS CROWN
The biggest weekend of racing in the Atlantic harness racing season will soon be upon us with the Atlantic Classic Yearling Sale on Oct. 11 and the Atlantic Breeders Crown Weekend Of Champions on Oct. 12 and 13.
The Atlantic Classic Yearling Sale has 113 entries, including horses from the first crops of Cougar Hall, Steelhead Hanover, Hilarious Halo and Source Of Pride.
The Atlantic Breeders Crown Banquet will be held Oct. 12 at Red Shores Charlottetown and another family from each Atlantic Province will be honoured at the event.
The Gass Family of Cornwall will be honoured from P.E.I., along with the Merner family of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Albert Belliveau family of N.B., and the Eddie Ellis family of Truro, N.S.
Memorabilia from each the four families will be on display in the ‘Memory Lane’ area at Red Shores Charlottetown with tickets for the banquet available at the Top of the Park for $30.