The top pacers on the Eastern seaboard of Canada will meet Saturday evening (June 23) at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at Charlottetown Driving Park for the Cecil Ladner Memorial Invitational, and In Spades is set to shake things up.
First race post time is 6 p.m. for the 12-dash card, with the $5,000 Cecil Ladner Memorial Invitational carded as the evening's finale.
In Spades, landing on Prince Edward Island for his East Coast debut, joins the stable of 18-year-old trainer-driver Austin Sorrie for owner Walter Simmons. The talented four-year-old pacer has already put together a solid 2018 season with five wins from 20 starts on the tough Ontario circuit, including a blistering 1:52.4 mile over the half-mile oval at The Raceway at Western Fair District in Ontario just last month. He gets post 5 for his debut. The seven best horses in Atlantic Canada will try to fend off his advances Saturday evening in the first free-for-all test of the season.
Euchred has reigned supreme so far this season and lands with post 4 Saturday for driver Adam Merner, trainer Terry Gallant and owner Kayla Habicht Walker. The six-year-old son of Shadow Play sports four wins from his last five starts and gets the support of race analyst Les MacIsaac.
“A couple of new faces have landed on the scene to try and put an end to his domination,” MacIsaac said of Euchred. “He's coming off a Maritime seasonal mark last week for his fourth win from his last five tries. The road to the winner’s circle could go through him.”
Intended Royalty ships in from Cape Breton, but is shouldered with post 8 for the team of driver Redmond Doucet and trainer Randy Copley while riding a four-race win streak. Czar Seelster has been hot lately and leaves from post 3 Saturday for trainer-driver Todd Weatherbee fresh off a just-beaten second-place finish to Euchred in 1:54.4. Other entries include Mr Irresistible (Jason Hughes), Cartoon Daddy (Corey MacPherson), Rose Run Quest (Marc Campbell) and Ashes To Ashes (Gilles Barrieau).
Campbell, the "King" of Island racing, will continue his quest for 2,000 wins in Atlantic Canada alone in his career on the Saturday program. The O’Brien Award-winning horseman needs six more victories to achieve the historic feat.
Action shifts to Summerside Raceway on Sunday (June 14) afternoon, and the defending Governor's Plate champion Do Over Hanover will contest the featured Preferred Pace. The Prince County oval has 13 dashes on tap Sunday with a 1 p.m. first race post time.
Do Over Hanover is back on red soil for the 2018 season and makes his first start off the bench in the race 12 top class for a $2,500 purse. Jason Hughes will drive the Chris MacKay trainee for owners Allard Racing and Donald MacRae. The race is fittingly sponsored as the first leg of the Governor’s Plate Decade Of Champions, with Red Shores honouring past champions from 1969 to 1980. Connections of those champions are invited out to the track for a special pace on designated cards leading up to this year’s final.
Do Over Hanover is undeniably the class of the field, but his only charted line since April was a 2:00.3 second-place finish in a qualifier and he has hardened competition to contend with Sunday. Fast N Victorious makes his Island debut from post 6 in the field of as many. Adam Merner will drive the winner of $120,000 for trainer Stephen Gass and owners Kent Livingston and Wade MacDonald. The five-year-old son of Art Major last raced at Plainridge in Massachusetts, pacing in 1:55 and change. Salmonier Storm leaves from post 2 for trainer-driver Ambyr Campbell with an impressive summary of six straight on-the-board finishes, while last week’s top class winner, Mando Fun, has post 5 with Kenny Arsenault at the lines.
Race analyst Bo Ford cautiously selects Do Over Hanover for the top spot this week.
“This is Do Over Hanover’s first start off an average qualifier for this bunch,” Ford said. “It doesn’t need explanation but here it is - $127,630 in 2017 is more than the whole field made combined last year, and there wasn’t any of them that won the Governors Plate or raced in the Gold Cup. Even if he gets beat, we look smarter for picking him than if we don’t pick him and he wins.”
The field is rounded out by Heart And Soul (Walter Cheverie) and Confident Fella (Marc Campbell).
The $100,000 Dash For Cash continues on the Sunday program with two lucky patrons that spend $10 or more on a single wager getting chance at the grand prize at the end of the program. For more information, go to www.redshores.ca.
To view Saturday's harness racing entries, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Charlottetown Driving Park.
To view Sunday's harness racing entries, click the following link: Sunday Entries - Summerside Raceway.
(Red Shores)