Arc Light vying for more
Rose Run Quest the horse to beat in Sunday’s feature race in Charlottetown
Arc Light has fought off the top mares on the East Coast every week during a championship season and that will continue today during a special afternoon at Red Shores at the Charlottetown Driving Park (CDP).
The 13-dash card has a 12:30 p.m. first race post time on customer appreciation day, sponsored by the P.E.I. Harness Racing Industry Association.
The top pacing mares square off in Race 12 for a $2,550 purse. Maritime Breeders champion Arc Light has graduated to the open mares level since finishing her stakes campaign and has taken the task in stride, winning her last two outings for trainerdriver Marc Campbell and owner Grayland Farm of Gulf Shore, N.S. Her latest win against open company pushed her seasonal earnings over $50,000 and the daughter of Camystic will strive for more of the same from Post 5 this afternoon.
Tell Me Why, who has been razor sharp with six straight top-three finishes, will have Post 1 for driver Corey MacPherson and trainer Joe MacDonald of Breadalbane. Collective Wisdom garnered a cheque against the boys last week and returns to female company this week from Post 4 with recent O’Brien Award for horsemanship nominee Gilles Barrieau at the lines.
“It is hard to believe a threeyear-old filly can be so dominant against aged mares but this one is,” race analyst Les MacIsaac said of Arc Light. “She hit another gear up the backstretch in her last two and never looked back, so you got to think a three-peat is a distinct possibility.”
Rounding out the field is Mrs Dragonfire (David Dowling) and Drivingthedragon N (Jason Hughes).
The trot war continues in Race 7 for a $2,350 purse as Star Photo is the top choice in a compact field of five open trotters for driver Jason Hughes, trainer Kevin Gillis and owners Robi Hughes, Eric MacLauchlan and James Perrot of Stratford and Blair MacLauchlan of Charlottetown. Freddie went down to defeat in his latest and has Post 4 this week for trainer-driver Campbell.
SUNDAY
Rose Run Quest has been a dominate force in Atlantic Canadian harness racing all season long and he will look to reignite that magic in Sunday’s feature at the CDP.
The 10-dash program will be the final regularly scheduled Sunday card of the season as racing switches to a Saturday only schedule starting next week.
Sunday’s first race goes postward at noon with the $2,950 featured preferred pace lining up in Race 9. Campbell will be in the bike behind Rose Run Quest from Post 5 as the morning-line favourite in the compact field. The pacer, who he trains, bought himself a ticket to the $200,000 club in his latest race but failed to make the winner’s circle as he finished second to Woodmere Ideal Art. Blair Hansen of Charlottetown owns the seven-yearold son of If I Can Dream.
The only horses to get their noses in front of Rose Run Quest in his last six starts were Woodmere Ideal Art, who is absent this week, and Euchred, who is racing in Ontario. Post 2 belongs to Burn Out Hanover with Barrieau driving for trainer Jeff Holmes, while Varadero Hanover will guard the rail from the Jeff Wallace stable for driver Ken Murphy.