CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. - A pair of hot horses climbing the ranks will face off with the 2018 preferred pace champion Saturday at Red Shores at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
First race post time is 6 p.m. for the 10-dash program with the top pacers squaring off in the Race 9, $2,500 preferred pace.
Winter Blast and Cartoon Daddy come into the event undefeated since their qualifiers this season, but will face their biggest test to date against Euchred who has not been worse than second in the preferred pace so far in the 2018 Summer Meet.
Euchred is the morning line choice from the outside post in the compact field of five with Adam Merner getting the catch driving call for trainer Terry Gallant and owner Kayla Habicht Walker of Inverness, N.S.
Front end control has proven to be crucial in this class so far this season and Cartoon Daddy has the post position advantage to make that happen.
Corey MacPherson will drive the Art Major stallion for undefeated trainer Rachel Andrew, while Winter Blast has been razor sharp in both his 2018 starts and gets Post 3 with Jason Hughes at the controls for trainer Jennifer Doyle.
Race analyst Les MacIsaac sees a third preferred victory of the season in Euchred’s future.
“Euchred has beaten the bearcats in two of three tries this year and every one of the rivals he's facing is moving up in class,” MacIsaac said. “It looks like the road to the winner’s circle goes through him.”
The field is rounded out by Zero Rate (Kenny Arsenault) and Ashes To Ashes (Gilles Barrieau).
The $2,100 back-up pace in Race 7 will see Mr Irresistible as the morning line favourite fromPost 4 for the combination of driver Hughes and trainer Doyle for owner Danny Birt of Stratford. Other top entries include Keep Coming (Merner) and Adkins Hanover (MacPherson).
Meanwhile, race fans will be treated to a feature event that literally anybody could win as Red Shores at the Summerside Raceway opens up its season for Victoria Day racing on Monday.
The 12-dash program starts the action off at 1 p.m.
The $2,100 featured pace is slated as Race 11 on the program with a field of six and no heavy favourites.
Confident Fella is the classifier's choice from Post 2 for driver Corey MacPherson, trainer Ralph Sweet and owners John and David Sweet of O'Leary. The six-year-old son of Artistic Fella came in from the Ontario circuit at the start of the 2018 Summer meet on P.E.I., remaining winless so far on the East Coast while showing miles in 1:57 and change.
Heart And Soul gets rail control in the featured pace while shifting into the stable of Walter Cheverie for this start for owner Riley Farms Ltd., of Summerside.
Race analyst Bo Ford opts to head in another direction and places his bets on Post 6 starter Machinthesand with Ken Murphy in the bike for trainer Hughie Murphy.
"I really like this horse coming in off a layoff," Ford said. "Machinthesand looked fresh in his qualifier and no doubt there will be no chance to get fractions backed down with this guy pressuring the whole mile."
Other top class entrants include Mando Fun (Dale Spence), Old Buck (Jason Hughes) and J Rs Hurricane (Adam Merner).
The back-up pace fields seven entrants in Race 9 of the program for a $1,900 purse. Allstar Seelster is the early favourite leaving from Post 1 for the combination of driver Norris Rogers and owner-trainer Ed Harvey of Tyne Valley.
Offshore Cowboy makes his return to racing from Post 7 in the event after a profitable three-year-old season was cut short in 2016 for trainer Donald Milligan due to injury. With 20 months since his last start, Offshore Cowboy will reunite with driver Hughes for the start of his five-year-old campaign. Other top entries include Cyrax (Spence) and Pictonian Storm (Austin Sorrie).
More at www.redshores.ca.
complied by Nicholas Oakes for Red Shores
