CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – The richest races of the season for two-year-old pacers are set for Sunday afternoon at the Truro Raceway in Nova Scotia.
Racing begins at 12:15 p.m. at the Bible Hill track.
In Maritime Breeder’s elimination action Sunday, Winsloe driver Marc Campbell hit the wire first in both splits for two-year-old pacing colts. Campbell teamed up with Atlantic Breeder’s Crown winner Notorious to win the first $5,000 elimination in 2:00.2 for trainer Darryl MacLean, who co-owns the son of Malicious with Gordon MacLean of Winsloe and Shirley Symes of Springhill, N.S. Dusty Lane Cortez (Adam Merner) was second, A Grand Terror (Gilles Barrieau) third and Fern Hill Dynamic (Mark Bradley) earning a spot in the $22,500 final with a fourth-place finish.
The other $5,000 elimination saw Campbell and Atlantic Breeder’s Crown consolation winner Purple Poet take the overland route to a 2:00 victory for trainer Robert Phillips of Pinette and owner Kevin Harvey of Hammonds Plains, N.S. Woodmere Bolt (Earl Smith) was second, Mall Peen Hammer (Kenny Arsenault) third and Red Dirt Boomer (Barrieau) fourth.
There were insufficient entries for eliminations in the filly division with all rookies advancing directly to this week’s $27,000 final.
Red Shores at the Charlottetown Driving Park has a 13-dash card scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. featuring the Maritime Breeder’s final for two- and three-year-old trotters.
Red Shores at the Summerside Raceway hosts their second-last card of the season on Sunday with a 1 p.m. post time.
Canada Wide
The London Selected Yearling Sale was held recently in London, Ont., with Island buyers active at the event.
Déjà Vu Seelster by Big Jim was purchased by Charlottetown native Andrew Moore for $14,000. The trainer also signed for Springbridge Jim, a yearling colt by Big Jim with a $14,000 price tag. Moore now campaigns out of Rideau Carleton Raceway outside Ottawa, Ont.
Vintage Vinyl, a colt by Vintage Master, was picked up by Darrell Neill of Winsloe for $3,000.
Larry Chappell of Marshfield purchased Messier Seelster, a colt by Thinking Out Loud, for $20,000. Cornwall native Mike Dowling signed for Tweeties Credit by Up The Credit, a filly who passed through the ring for $1,000. Dowling now races a small stable out of Paris, Ont., not far from Flamboro Downs.
In total, 312 yearlings passed through the ring in the lone sale of the Ontario harness racing market for a total of $7,064,800, good for an average of $22,644 per yearling.
Young Man Matt was scheduled to make his return to Ontario racing Thursday at Flamboro Downs near Dundas, Ont. Owned by Terry Gallant of Summerside, the pacer has won his last five races on P.E.I. and was entered in a $7,000 claiming class for trainer-driver Paul MacKenzie, a native of Charlottetown. Gallant claimed the pacer in the Alpine $5,000 claiming series during Old Home Week in Charlottetown, after he was brought here by Ontario trainer Patrick Shepherd.
Nick’s Picks
Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Red Shores at the Charlottetown Driving Park:
Race 1 – Rockyroad Slimjim
Race 2 – Allstar Man
Race 3 – Prince Adair
Race 4 – Mile Hill Willie
Race 5 – Ultimatelyhandsome
Race 6 – Shadows In Town
Race 7 – West River Cindy
Race 8 – Jetster
Race 9 – Jackson K Down
Race 10 – Instant Shadow
Race 11 – IC True Grit
Race 12 – Prettyndangerous
Race 13 – Heart And Soul
Nicholas Oakes' column appears in The Guardian each Friday. He can be reached at [email protected].
