After a sixth-place finish in the opening leg of the Governor's Cup Series, the forecast appeared less than favourable for Sunshine Lou to advance to this year's final. But a win last week gave a ray of hope to his connections.
It was clear skies on Saturday (Nov. 6) for Sunshine Lou, who made every call a winning one to capture the 2021 Governor's Cup Final at Northside Downs.
Walter Walker hustled the five-year-old gelding away from post four and cleared to the lead ahead of Johnnie Jack (Ryan Campbell) heading into the opening turn. Campbell tested Sunshine Lou on the backside, but Walker wasn't about to let him by. He repelled that challenge through a :27.1 opening panel, with Johnnie Jack forced back into the pocket.
Sunshine Lou managed to ration that speed through the middle half, posting panels of :57.1 and 1:26.3 as the backfield started to rally with favoured Intended Royalty (Redmond Doucet) launched three-wide around first-over attacker Gentry Seelster (Mark Pezzarello). A :30.3 final quarter was more than enough to hold off the late bid of Daddy Let Me Drive (Rodney Gillis) to score by three parts of a length in 1:57.1. Intended Royalty rounded out the top three.
Raymond MacKinnon of Inverness, N.S. trains and owns Sunshine Lou (Sunshine Beach - Carte De Mode), now a seven-time winner this season and 13-time winner from his 80 career starts. The winner's share of the purse lifted his seasonal earnings to $12,846, with lifetime earnings in excess of $54,000. A competitive field produced a healthy return on investment for his supporters, paying $7.90 to win as the second choice.
Earlier on the card, Red Rum She Wrote held off The Big Chase to win the $3,000 Governor's Cup Series Consolation in 1:57.1 for owner / trainer / driver Barry Bates of New Waterford, N.S. A four-year-old daughter of Vintage Master - So Cute Hanover, Red Rum She Wrote notched her 11th career win in the process, good for $14,504 in lifetime earnings.
To view the results of Saturday's card, click the following link: Saturday Results - Northside Downs.