Gilles Barrieau will have a chance to defend his Paul MacDonald Memorial Driving Championship trophy Saturday afternoon at Red Shores’ Charlottetown Driving Park.
The New Brunswick reinsmen has been a regular at the capital oval in the summer months the past few years, and ended up tied for first place during the horseperson’s day card in 2015. Ron Matheson was tied with Barrieau in that event, but will not compete during the annual horseperson’s day card being held this Saturday in Charlottetown. First-race post time for the 16-dash card is 12:30 p.m.
The driver with the most points in the nine-race competition will be crowned champion in the Paul MacDonald Driving Championship, sponsored by the P.E.I. Standardbred Horse Owner’s Association. Barrieau will start out the action in Race 3 aboard Mayhem Man for trainer Jay Noye of Pleasant Valley against a field of eight other drivers.
The competition features the top five dash-winning drivers of 2016 in Charlottetown with Marc Campbell, Corey MacPheron, Barrieau, Jason Hughes and Gary Chappell in that category. The top two percentage drivers with over 75 starts, Adam Merner and Kenny Arsenault, will also compete, along with the top two percentage drivers with 40-75 starts, represented by Don MacNeill and Todd Walsh. Every race is sponsored on the 16-dash program, with the driving championship events in Races 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 14.
Freddie is sure to the be the post time favourite in the $1,850 Open Trot (Race 6), which has been labelled as the Emmett and Albert Bernard Memorial, with Campbell training and driving for the Three Wisemen Stable of Cornwall. The four-year-old son of Majestic Son was handicapped to the outside in the field of eight that also includes Thunderaway (Hughes) and Holy Molie Maggie (Chappell).
D Gs Camme and Drivingthedragon N will hook up again after the latter posted an upset in last week’s feature pace. Barrieau gets the call behind D Gs Camme for trainer Jackie Matheson and owners Ron Matheson, Tom Clark and Quentin and Hal Bevan from Post 6. Drivingthedragon N has trainer-driver Hughes for owner Donald MacRae of Vernon Bridge after having not been worse than third in her last 13 starts.
The field of eight, sponsored by Larry Chappell Construction, also includes Painted Desert (Wade Sorrie), Simon Said (Arsenault), All Turain (MacPherson), Someone Like You (Mike McGuigan), Eagle Jolt (Campbell), and Smiley Bayama (Adam Merner).
To view the harness racing entries for Saturday at the CDP, click the following link: Saturday Entries – Charlottetown Driving Park.
(Red Shores)