CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – Euchred will have some foes trying to settle the score this evening as the top aged pacers in Atlantic Canada meet at Red Shores at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
The action begins at 6 p.m. with 12 dashes scheduled at the capital oval. The $3,500 invitational pace is carded as Race 12 of the program with a compact field of five and Euchred being saddled with the outside. Jason Hughes picks up the steer on Euchred for trainer Terry Gallant and owner Kayla Habicht Walker of Inverness, N.S. The six-year-old son of Shadow Play rides a two-race win streak into the event. Those victories came defeating the same top pacers in 1:53.2 for driver Gilles Barrieau and 1:54 for driver David Dowling.
Czar Seelster has Post 3 with Kenny Arsenault back in the bike for trainer Todd Weatherbee while fellow top-end pacer Rose Run Quest gets Gary Chappell in the bike in the absence of trainer Marc Campbell. Keep Coming (Corey MacPherson) also won his last two races, including a 1:55.1 win in the $4,000 Johnny Conroy Memorial at Truro Raceway in Nova Scotia. Completing the field is Machinthesand (Ken Murphy) with rail control. Race analyst Les MacIsaac thinks Euchred’s burst off the gate will be enough to overcome his outside starting post.
“Euchred is right back to where he was earlier in the season, dominating every race from start to finish,” MacIsaac said. “He’ll look to exploit that gate speed and set up shop on the front end again and once there he can be very tough to catch.”
Also on the program, a field of six will contest the $2,350 fillies and mares open pace in Race 7. Ramblinglily draws Post 6 in the race as the morning-line favourite and trainer Alan Jones in the race bike. Other top entries include Collective Wisdom (Ron Matheson) and Prettyndangerous (Hughes).
– Compiled by Nicholas Oakes for Red Shores.
