Three-year-old trotters were put to the test over a sloppy track at Charlottetown Driving Park on Saturday night in a pair of $1,500 Maritime Breeders eliminations and Scarlet Patti and Diamond Mine passed with flying colours to earn their spot in next weekend’s final
. The top four finishers advance to the final.
Scarlet Patti front-stepped her way to victory in the first elimination over Charlottetown’s rain soaked half-mile oval for trainer, driver and breeder Darryl MacLean and his father, owner Gordon MacLean of Winsloe, P.E.I.
Keiths Daisy (Lloyd Hannah) and Glencove Umay (Carl Bagnall) made early breaks from the two outer post postions while Scarlet Patti and Darryl MacLean left from Post 5 and cleared the lead ahead of Porter (Kenny Arsenault) and Southfield Sam (Terry Gallant) before the opening quarter of :31.
Gallant sent Southfield Sam first up in front of the grandstand while Scarlet Patti took the field to the half in 1:03. As ‘Patti’ headed to the next marker, three-quarters in 1:34.1, Porter jumped it off and Southfield Sam ducked into the pocket. ‘Sam’ then popped back out around the final turn to take another shot at the leader, but Scarlet Patti was much the best, winning by one length in 2:06.4. Southfield Sam stayed for second and Miss Toria Ridge (Clare MacDonald) rounded out the top three. Rustico Nicky (Ed Smallwood) also made the final with her fourth-place finish.
Scarlett Patti paid $5.40 to win as the 8-5 favourite. She is is now eight-for-12 in her sophomore campaign with over $21,000 earned. The daughter of PJs Nabby-Scarlet Nite, who boasts a record of 18-5-1 in 24 lifetime starts and a bankroll of $56,741, is the defending Maritime Breeders champion.
Diamond Mine also used front-end tactics to get the job done in the second elimination for driver Corey MacPherson and trainer Cynthia MacDonald, who shares ownership with Tanya MacKinnon of Souris, P.E.I.
Diamond Mine hustled to the lead from Post 2 ahead of Unstoppable Image (Ronnie Gass), who made a break while trying for a top spot. The popular Rustico Tapdancer (Joey Pineau) and K Ys Sno Meadow (Alden Lea Bell) also made early miscues off the gate.
Settling on top, Diamond Mine proceeded to the first quarter in :32, half in 1:03.4 and three-quarters in 1:35 before opening up multiple lengths in the stretch to secure the victory in 2:06.1. West River Ugo (Clare MacDonald) finished second while Unstoppable Image recovered from his miscue and journeyed first over to get third. Murray M (Garth Cole) was fourth.
Diamond Mine paid $4.90 to win as the 3-2 second choice. The son of PJs Nabby-RRR Diamond picked up his second win in 14 seasonal starts and pushed his earnings to over $8,000. His lifetime record now reads 4-7-7 in 28 starts and his bankroll totals $29,193.
To view Saturday's results, click here.