"We bought him for the Gold Cup, hoping he would be good enough, and indications so far are that he is. If he wasn’t good enough we wouldn’t be taking him here.”

Those are the words of Cornwall, PEI resident Jamie MacKinley, who, along with York Point, PEI native Jody Sanderson, recently purchased Chasin Racin, a class son of The Panderosa. The duo have entrusted the winner of 12 races and $644,116 in purses to conditioner Andrew Moore, who has been prepping the five-year-old at Ottawa, Ont.'s Rideau Carleton Raceway.

The news comes via Nick Oakes most recent column in The Guardian. If you think Chasin Racin will have a bit of a long trip to PEI to contest the province's beloved stakes event, you should check out how far Sanderson will be coming from to take it all in.

Sanderson, who is employed in Qatar, which is adjacent to Saudi Arabia, explained to Oakes how special the event is.

“I grew up watching it,” Sanderson was quoted as saying. “I never missed it growing up, and this isn’t going back two years. This goes back to sending two dollars with my parents to the track to get a win ticket on Sauls Pride (who raced in the '80s).”

Sponsored by Sobeys and Red Shores, the Gold Cup & Saucer will get underway Saturday, August 13 with Trial 1 at the Charlottetown Driving Park. Trial 2 will take place Monday, August 15. The $60,000 final will be raced Saturday, August 20. For complete information on the Gold Cup & Saucer, refer to SC's online Canadian Stakes Guide by clicking here.

“To be under the spotlight Gold Cup night would be my thrill in harness racing,” MacKinley was quoted as saying. “Each horse walking in front of the grandstand and Vance (track announcer Vance Cameron) talking about who they are and where they’ve been. It really shows off the horse as the athlete.”

(With files from The Guardian)