CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Dale Spence will try to find the lone horse shipped in from outside the region for The Guardian Gold Cup and Saucer trials a trip to the final tonight at Red Shores at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
Gold Cup and Saucer week racing continues tonight with a 7 p.m. program featuring the $12,500 trial in the Race 10 finale. The top-four finishers will advance to Saturday’s final while the last three finishers will face off in the $20,000 James (Roach) MacGregor Gold Cup and Saucer consolation Friday night.
Casimir Richie P will leave from Post 3 as the likely favourite after shipping in from Woodbine Mohawk Park in Ontario where he was squaring off with the best pacers in Canada on a weekly basis.
Summerside native Dr. Ian Moore trains the horse but is unable to come himself due to coronavirus (COVID-19 strain) restrictions. He left the horse in the care of daughter Lindsay and wife Nancy in Brackley while Spence, a top Maritime reinsman, will sit in the race bike.
Spence worked with Moore in Florida during the winter where he and fiancé MacKenzie MacInnis handled Casimir Richie P on a daily basis.
“It really helps that this horse is no stranger to me,” Spence said. “I trained him down all winter with Ian and Nancy and all the crew in Florida and actually qualified him before I came home.”
Spence had a career season in 2019 with 104 driving wins and $203,000 in earnings.
“It’s all about the people,” Spence said of his rise in the standings. “Without good people, I would never get the chance to do anything, much like this opportunity here. Ian and owner Michael Goldberg were gracious enough to send the horse down here and they could have just as well thrown anyone up in the Maritimes and Ian decided to hand the reins over to me. So, I’m going to do the best I can.”
Spence looks to Post 1 starter Yankee Osborne (Neil MacInnis) as his chief competition tonight.
“Yankee Osborne has the rail and is a very nice horse. Neil and Ross MacInnis are very accomplished horsemen.”
Casimir Richie P last raced in the preferred pace at Woodbine, boasting $46,260 in seasonal earnings but Spence admits the race likely won’t be easy.
“These are some nice horses we have in the Maritimes and people have shelled out some real money to buy quality horses. It’s all about the thrill of the game here. You don’t race for much here but we’re hopefully going to be going for lots next Saturday night. You make the final, go under the spotlight and the rest will be history.”
Nicholas Oakes is covering harness racing at Gold Cup and Saucer Week for The Guardian. This is his 11th year covering the big week for the news outlet.
