The front end is sure to be hotly-contested in the Saturday night featured event at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
First race post time is 6:00 P.M. for the 10-dash card with the feature -- the $2,500 preferred pace -- slated for race 9. The front end has been the key to victory in the first pair of preferred races of the summer harness racing season, and Euchred gets rail control this week for the combination of driver Gilles Barrieau and trainer Terry Gallant.
The six-year-old son of Shadow Play is owned by Kayla Habicht Walker of Inverness, N.S., with him putting together a win and second in this class so far in 2018. Keep Coming is known for front-end tactics and gets post 2 for driver Adam Merner, while the fast-leaving Adkins Hanover (Corey MacPherson) has post 5 and Czar Seelster is saddled with the outside post 6 after controlling the front last week en route to a 1:55.3 victory.
Race analyst Les MacIsaac places his fortune on post 5 starter Adkins Hanover, who is racing with hopples this week after making a pair of breaks in his first start of the season.
“Adkins Hanover has great gate speed and he’ll be looking to atone for that miscue on opening night,” MacIsaac said. “If he can set up shop on the front end without being used too hard there could be nothing but open road ahead.”
Other entries are Mr Irresistible (Jason Hughes) and Elm Grove Kaboom (Marc Campbell).
The back-up pace lines up in race 6 for a $2,000 purse with Cartoon Daddy putting his two-race win streak on the line from post 2. Corey MacPherson picks up the catch drive behind the Rachel Andrew trainee for owners William Andrew of Calgary and Brian Andrew of Milton. Adam Merner drove the Art Major stallion to his first two victories of the season but elects to drive Likely To Win off the rail for trainer Melissa Rennie. Maritime Breeders champion Ashes To Ashes starts off his four-year-old season from post 5 in the class for driver Barrieau and trainer Jackie Matheson with Zero Rate (Arsenault) and Allstar Seelster (Norris Rogers) rounding out the field.
For more information including race programs, live video and promotional plays go to redshores.ca. To view entries for Saturday's card, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Red Shores Charlottetown.
(with files from Red Shores)