Top pacers meet tonight at Charlottetown Driving Park

CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The best pacers on the East Coast will butt heads in tonight’s preferred pace at Red Shores at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
The 13-dash card has a 6 p.m. post time and Rose Run Quest has received top billing, fresh off a runner-up finish in the $20,000 James (Roach) MacGregor Gold Cup and Saucer consolation on Aug. 16.
Tonight’s $2,900 preferred class lines up in Race 12 and has Rose Run Quest leaving from Post 4 with Gilles Barrieau subbing in for trainer and regular driver Marc Campbell, who is competing in stakes action in Nova Scotia. Owned by Blair Hansen of Charlottetown, Rose Run Quest has amassed seven wins from 14 seasonal starts along with $34,938 in earnings.
Best To Hurst takes a two-race win streak into Post 1 with Walter Cheverie in the bike for trainer Earl Watts. JJ Powerball also has a pair of wins in his latest races, including a 1:53.2 lifetime-best performance during Old Home Week racing in Charlottetown. Gordie Hennessey will drive the four-year-old son of Image Of Dawn for trainer Wade Sorrie.
“Rose Run Quest has won half his starts this year facing the best in the Maritimes and also some pretty powerful outsiders,” said race analyst Les MacIsaac. “Just a quick check of his lines should tell you the road to the winner’s circle goes through him.”
The field also includes IC True Grit (Mike McGuigan), Midnight Matt (Jason Hughes), Burn Out Hanover (Corey MacPherson), Woodmere Ideal Art (Norris Rogers) and Bugsy Maguire (Myles Heffernan).
The $2,700 fillies and mares open pace hits the track in Race 8 with Sodwana Bay the morning-line favourite from Post 1 for trainer-driver Barrieau and owners Wayne MacRae of Fall River, N.S., and Howmac Farms Ltd., of North Wiltshire.
– Compiled by Nicholas Oakes for Red Shores.