Time to Dance wins Governor’s Plate
Time To Dance’s connections dedicate Governor’s Plate victory to the late owner
SUMMERSIDE – Trainerdriver Marc Campbell understood the significance of racing Time To Dance in the 53rd running of the $25,000 Governor’s Plate, presented by Summerside Chrysler Dodge, on July 10.
It was more than just a regular race for the connections of the five-year-old bay gelding by A Rocknroll Dance-Mystical Gypsy-Bettors Delight.
Richard Campbell, who shared ownership in Time Do Dance with his son, Brent Campbell of Charlottetown and Matthew Mcdonald of Edwards, Ont., died July 6 following a battle with cancer at age 66. Less than 24 hours earlier, Time To Dance won the first Governor’s Plate elimination in 1:52.3.
“Brent and I made a decision as soon as Richard passed that we would be here (July 10), and that is what Richard would have wanted,” Richard’s wife, Jacinta Campbell, said after she accepted the Governor’s Plate from Lt.Gov. Antoinette Perry in the Red Shores at Summerside Raceway winner’s circle on July 10. “We have a lot of family support, and we knew Marc would get the job done, and he did. He did it for all of us, and we appreciate it.”
The rail-sitting Time To Dance led from start to finish, cutting out fractions of 27 seconds flat, 55.2 and 1:24.3 en route to a 1:53.1 victory in Prince County’s most prestigious standardbred race. To illustrate the dominance of Time To Dance’s performance, second-place finisher Rose Run Quest finished in 1:54.4.
“We were flying around that first turn,” Marc told the SaltWire Network in a postrace
interview. “It was a very fast first eighth (of a mile). That’s a big quarter on this track, 27 flat.”
P.E.I.'S BIG RACES
Time To Dance has now won P.E.I.’s two biggest standardbred races. He captured
The Guardian Gold Cup and Saucer in Charlottetown 11 months ago in 1:51.4.
“I knew it was going to be hard to top that, but this ranks right up there for sure,” said Brent. “It’s pretty special to win the two biggest races in Eastern Canada within a calendar year.
“We always wanted to have a horse good enough for the Governor’s Plate. When we
bought this horse last year, we weren’t thinking Gold Cup. We were thinking topclass horse, maybe, on a Saturday night in Charlottetown. We hoped to take him to the Governor’s Plate.”
Ys Lotus was the last horse to capture both of the Island’s top races, accomplishing the sweep in 2016.
ANSWERED CHALLENGES
Marc said whenever Time To Dance was challenged in the Governor’s Plate, he had an answer.
“Up the backstretch (the second time), I asked him to go, and he hit two or three gears, and then after that, I looked back and kind of shut him down halfway down the lane,” said Marc, who recorded five driving victories on the 15-dash program. ”I had to ask him when (Gilles) Barrieau (driving Day Delight) came first, but he can go fast and shut down really quick, which is great because he can get a breather in there.
“A lot of horses can’t, and that’s why he’s so versatile and such a good horse.”
Marc, who won his fourth Governor’s Plate, said this victory carries extra significance given the circumstances of the emotional week.
“I don’t think it’s really hit me, honestly,” he said. “Brent has been so strong all week, and I couldn’t be weak. He works and obviously took the week off, but he’s been in and out of the barn all week. I said, ‘I have to be strong through this, and we just have to do it.’
“Jacinta is right; Richard would want this to happen.
He would be looking down on us, telling us to kick ass. He was a great friend, he was an owner, and we are close to them. When he drew the rail, I was like, ‘Richard did that, he had to’. This was meant to happen.”
Brent described the past week as super tough. He recalled an emotional conversation he had with Marc on Tuesday morning. He also praised Team Campbell for stepping up during this difficult time.
“We agreed pretty quick that (Richard) would want the horse to race, and we were definitely going to race him in his honour,” said
Brent. “I wasn’t around too much this week; I tried to get to the barn a little bit each day and help out.
“The whole team of Marc’s did a crazy good job. Even though after the draw he was the so-called favourite, at the farm we treated him like he may have been second or third best. We weren’t taking anything for granted all week. We all dug down deep the last two or three days and just got it done as a team.”
Marc said he got to know Richard very well through harness racing. More importantly, he said, Richard was a quality person who had a passion for harness racing.
“Richard was the cheerleader,” he said. “He was the guy who took coffees to the barn every morning. He jogged (Time To Dance) last year a little bit.
“I have a double-seater jog car, and he’d come jog with me with different horses. He was always there. The best thing about Richard is he didn’t just cheer for his horse; he cheered for everybody’s horse in the barn. That is what I really liked about him.
“Last year, we had some difficulty picking horses with two in the same race, but him, Brent and the whole family were great to deal with. This win is not for me – it’s for the family.”