YS Lotus overtook his stablemate and fellow trial winner Go Daddy Go down the backstretch and paced away to a 1:50.1 record victory in the 57th edition of the $60,000 Sobey's Gold Cup & Saucer to close out the Saturday, August 20 card just after midnight at Red Shores at Charlottetown Driving Park.
Driver Louis-Philippe Roy and YS Lotus gave trainer Rene Allard his second victory in P.E.I.'s signature race while Go Daddy Go and Brad Forward completed a sweep of the top-two spots for owner Yves Sarrazin of La Presentation, Que.
YS Lotus lowered the 1:50.3 all-age track record set by the Allard-trained Crombie A during last year's Gold Cup & Saucer trials. The time of the mile also equalled the Canadian record for older pacers on a half-mile track, which was established by Rockin Ron in this year's Confederation Cup at Flamboro Downs.
With the inside post advantage, Go Daddy Go established the lead off the gate while Limelight Beach and Anthony MacDonald fired out from post six and were able to secure the pocket position through a :26.2 first quarter. Paparazzi Hanover and Travis Cullen followed in third, with YS Lotus in mid-pack.
As Go Daddy Go led the field in front of the grandstand towards the half in :54.1, his stablemate YS Lotus made his move and began to advance first over with Alexas Jackpot and Jody Jamieson following the cover.
YS Lotus moved up to confront the favoured front-striding Allard trainee down the backstretch and worked to clear as they raced past the third quarter mark in 1:22.2. He began to open up a couple of lengths on top turning for home and continued to draw away down the lane in a :27.4 final quarter to win by six lengths in 1:50.1.
Alexas Jackpot finished third with Ron Burke trainees Limelight Beach and fan favourite Foiled Again, driven by Marc Campbell, earning the final paycheques in fourth and fifth, respectively. Paparazzi Hanover was sixth while D Gs Camme and Gilles Barrieau finished seventh. Allard's third entry, Shades Of Bay, and Corey MacPherson completed the field after breaking stride.
YS Lotus paid $6.70 to win. A career winner of 17 races and over $200,000 in purses, the five-year-old If I Can Dream-Bolero Takara gelding is undefeated in five starts in the province of P.E.I. He swept the Governor's Plate at Summerside Raceway in July and has now won three straight at Charlottetown, including a 1:51.1 front-end effort in his Gold Cup & Saucer trial.
"This Island, he hasn't lost here yet," said Allard of YS Lotus. "The owner's had him since he was two or three; he bought in on him and he ended up owning all of him. Yves Sarrazin from Quebec, he is one of my biggest owners and he's a great guy. We're happy we got it done. I've had the horse for a couple of years and we brought him here and he's got all the confidence in the world now. He's brave and was good tonight.
"He [Louis-Philippe Roy] drove him really well. I was a little concerned about sending him off the gate this week. We had a bit of a different strategy [than in the trial] and it worked out."
"It's crazy, I've never seen that much people and that much atmosphere around one race," said Roy of his Gold Cup & Saucer driving debut. "I never thought this year I could even be driving in this race so to win it is a big bonus."
Action-Packed Double-Header at Red Shores
Saturday's action-packed double-header of harness racing included an all-age trotting track record performance courtesy of Osprey Impact. Walter Cheverie was in the sulky as the five-year-old Federal Flex mare led through fractions of :28.4, :59.2 and 1:28.3 en route to the 1:57.2 victory in the $2,500 Open Trot for owner/trainer Paul Larrabee of Belle River, P.E.I. Freddie finished two and three-quarter lengths behind in second and trotting mare Thunderaway, who held the former record of 1:57.3, was third.
Driver Gilles Barrieau won the Francis McIsaac Memorial Award for the fourth time in his career as top-winning driver of Old Home Week. Barrieau capped off the week with a pair of victories on Saturday night for the Jackie Matheson stable.
In a battle of two top Maritime pacing mares, the Barrieau-driven Shadows Mystery held off the pocket-pulling Ramblinglily down the stretch to win the $3,500 Mares Open Handicap by half a length in 1:55.3. The five-year-old daughter of Shadow Play is owned by Gordon Ford of Yoho, N.B.
Barrieau also won the $2,350 Norman MacPhail Memorial Pace with Clic K, who went wire-to-wire in 1:54.3 and held off rivals on both sides, Smiley Bayama and Machinthesand. The eight-year-old Shanghai Phil gelding is owned by the Plo Stables of Donagh, P.E.I.
Trainer Trevor Hicken doubled up on Saturday night with All Turain winning the $2,650 Premier's Pace and Bazillion taking the $2,100 Papermaker Pace.
Bazillion started from the inside post and gave up the leading role to the quick-leaving Chaleurs Ad during the opening quarter, but the six-year-old Village Jolt gelding prevailed from the pocket in 1:54.3 in rein to Brett MacDonald for owner Kent Livingston of Cornwall, P.E.I.
All Turain rallied three-wide off cover to score his 1:55 victory over fellow late-closer Jeb. Jody Jamieson catch-drove the seven-year-old gelded son of Tell All for local owner Lee Hicken.
The Gold Cup & Saucer undercard also featured three $7,800 Gold divisions of the Joe O'Brien Memorial Stakes for three-year-old pacing colts.
J J Jodster and driver Marc Campbell just held on to win the first division, finishing a neck ahead of first over challenger Burkes Bandit and Brandons Glory, who came flying late up the passing lane to make it a three-across finish. Earl Watts trains the Chasin Racin gelding, who took a new lifetime mark of 1:55.4, for Nova Scotia owner Brian Burgess and P.E.I. partners Windemere Farms and Hollis Newson.
Heart And Soul advanced first over after the first lap of the track and wore down pacesetter Jackson K Down to win by a widening three lengths in 1:55.2. Clare MacDonald trains and drives the Western Paradise gelding for owners Earith Riley and George Riley of Kensington, P.E.I. Offshore Cowboy recovered from an early break in stride to finish third.
With Jody Jamieson catch-driving for trainer Earl Smith, Howmacsblackjack stole a second quarter breather en route to a 1:58.1 victory over pocket-pursuer Magical Cowboy and first over advancer K D Overdrive. The Articulator colt is owned by Islanders Peter Smith, Don Smith, Gerald Morrissey and Larry Chappell.
Campbell and Watts also teamed up to win a pair of $5,000 Grassroots divisions during the afternoon program with Abner The Great (1:58.4) and Allard's Windemere Rene (1:57.4) by a combined 20 lengths. The other Grassroots division was won by Alberta Sky (1:57.3) by a neck for driver Ken Murphy and trainer Clifford Murphy.
Gold Cup & Saucer winner Louis-Philippe Roy was also victorious in the Alpine Claiming Series. Quebec invader Force Of Fire and Roy made every call a winning one in the $5,300 fillies and mares final of the series for $4,000 claimers, with the final time 1:57.3 for owner/trainer Charles Gaudreault of Mont-Joli, Que.
Top Alberta reinsman Travis Cullen was in town and steered the popular pacer Threes A Crowd to victory in the $5,900 Alpine male final after being claimed each leg of the series. Racing from the Jeff Holmes stable for Vernon Bridge, P.E.I. owner Trevor MacDonald in the final, Threes A Crowd reeled in the pacesetting Mach Vegas and prevailed in 1:58.2 over Leading Camdidate, who weaved inside that pair down the stretch in a close finish.
To view Saturday's complete harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Charlottetown Driving Park.