Q Ts Charlie had two missions on Saturday, Sept. 2 in the Winners Over feature at Northside Downs. Make the front and don't let anyone by.
Missions accomplished.
Shawn Lynk set Q Ts Charlie to the front in the eighth race $1,600 feature, but was parked three wide in the first turn. Eventually, Q Ts Charlie cleared inside leavers Thunder Alley (Gerard Kennedy) and Keeperoftherealm (Ryan Campbell) before landing on the lead and hitting the opening station in 28 seconds.
A breather was obtained in the second quarter with the half reached in :59.1. Advantage went to the pacesetter after that midway point, as Q Ts Charlie picked it up to trip the third station in 1:28.2. Favoured Revenant (Mark Pezzarello) was grinding it out first over but still two lengths in arrears around the far turn. In the stretch, Q Ts Charlie looked like he needed the wire with Revenant starting to make gains with a late lunge, but that lunge was too late. Q Ts Charlie was a quarter length the best, with the mile timed in 1:59. Thunder Alley rounded out the top trio.
Jeremy Baker trains seven-year-old Q Ts Charlie (Proven Lover - Neverquits) for owner John Murphy of Port Hawkesbury, N.S. Despite winning in this class last week, he paid $7.50 to win as the 5-2 third choice. This win was his six of the season and 23rd lifetime for earnings of $26,385.
After being involved as a driver back in the 1970s, Carl Getto has found his way back to harness racing as an owner and a trainer. In the afternoon's second race, Getto's pacing mare State Of Mind prevailed in a wire-to-wire effort to give the New Waterford-based horseman his first training win. Brother Randy Getto engineered the winning trip, with the mile timed in 2:01.
To view the results from the Saturday card of harness racing in Cape Breton, click the following link: Saturday Results - Northside Downs.