An action packed stakes card at Summerside Raceway on Wednesday night saw R Es Miss Jen put an end to Meridian Magic’s 25-race win streak in a Gold division of the Lady Slipper Stake and Abby Best captured her second straight Erwin Andrew Memorial Series title
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Fresh off a victory in the Atlantic Breeders Crown, Meridian Magic and trainer-driver Kenny Arsenault took control from the inside post in the first $12,000 Lady Slipper Stake Gold division and carved out fractions of :29.2, 1:01.1 and 1:32.3 with R Es Miss Jen and Gilles Barrieau following in the pocket. Hey Jean (Marc Campbell) launched a first over attack from third at three-quarters but it was R Es Miss Jen who managed to get up for the half-length score in 2:01.1, giving Meridian Magic her first taste of defeat in over a year. Hey Jean finished three and three-quarter lengths behind in third.
R Es Miss Jen, a daughter of N Xample-R Es Jen, pushed her own win streak to five for trainer Blaine McKenna, who shares ownership with Harold Culleton of Ellerslie, P.E.I. Her sophomore record now stands at 5-4-0 in 12 starts with earnings totaling $24,148.
For more on Meridian Magic, check out October's issue of Trot Magazine.
Barrieau also captured the other Gold division with his own pupil, Shesa Mint. The daughter of Signyourlifeaway-Costa Mint cleared the lead at the :28.1 opening quarter and proceeded to the half in :58.2 and three-quarters in 1:29 before kicking away by nearly five lengths for the 1:59.3 victory. Woodmere Rose (Gary Chappell) and Howmac Royale (Marc Campbell) finished second and third.
Shesa Mint has recorded four wins, three seconds and three thirds in 17 starts this year and has banked $26,170 for the Polar Ice Stable of Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Emyvale (2:03.3) and A Teddy A Shine (2:02.2) captured their respective $7,900 Grassroots divisions.
It was a close call in the lone $17,200 Gold division of the Joe O'Brien Memorial Stake as Ultimate Yankee and trainer-driver Robert Laffin edged out Dr Alexander B (Shane Bernard), Atlantic Breeders Crown champion Mr Salming (Gilles Barrieau) and Island Redemption (Marc Campbell) at the wire.
Dr Alexander B won an early tussle for the lead beating Island Redemption to the first quarter in :28.3. ‘The Doctor’ cleared the lead and reached the half in 1:00 and three-quarters in 1:29.3 before coming under attack. Ultimate Yankee, the ‘Crown’ runner-up, rallied off Mr Salming’s cover and sprinted home in :28.3 for the victory.
Ultimate Yankee improved his seasonal record to 5-3-1 in 13 starts and pushed his earnings to $27,447 for the Ultimate Stable and Dawn Hubbard of Greater Lakeburn of N.B.
Fit To Ben Tied (1:58.3) and Windemere Royal (1:59.4) also won a pair of $6,700 Grassroots divisions.
Abby Best was a wire-to-wire winner in the $14,933 Erwin Andrew Memorial Series Final for the second straight year for driver Kenny Arsenault and owner-trainer Angus MacLean of Port Hood, N.S. The series, sponsored by Standardbred Canada, Meridian Farms and Summerside, is for aged pacing mares which are Canadian sired and/or 100 per cent Canadian owned.
With the inside post position, Abby Best fired to command and led the field of eight past fractions of :28.2, :59 and 1:28.4 en route to victory in 1:58.1. P L Betterway (Marc Campbell) finished two and a half lengths behind in second and Shooters Bay (Walter Cheverie) was third.
Abby Best now boasts a record of 12-6-3 in 28 starts this year and earnings totaling $27,812. The nine-year-old daughter of Cambest-Armbro Seismic won the opening leg of the series at Truro Raceway on July 25 and was a runner-up in the next two legs to Post 8 starter Grace And Harv (fifth) at Summerside on August 27 and Exhibition Park Raceway on September 2. She also won her fourth leg division at Charlottetown Driving Park on September 30.
Abby Best made her debut in the series in 2008 and finished second by a quarter-length to Howmacs Dragon in the final. She then swept all seven legs and the final of the 2009 edition.
To view Wednesday's results, click here.