Pacing veterans Intended Royalty and Southwind Ricardo boast 103 victories between them, and by the looks of Saturday's opening leg of the Governor's Cup Series at Northside Downs they'll be adding to those totals by the time the series has concluded.
Intended Royalty delivered as the public choice in the first $1,600 division. Driver Redmond Doucet settled into third as the Big Chase (Greg Sparling) reeled off a :28.3 opening quarter, then pounced as the pace started to slow in the second split. Intended Royalty landed back to the pylons through a :59.3 half, repelled a challenge from Gentry Seelster (Mark Pezzarello) through the 1:28.3 third station, then pulled away to win by more than five lengths in 1:57.1. The Big Chase and Gentry Seelster completed the top trio.
Trained by Randy Copley, who co-owns with Eddie Copley of Inverness, N.S., 10-year-old Intended Royalty (No Pan Intended - Renees Queen) picked up his eighth win of the season and 57th lifetime to push his earnings to $138,098.
The name of Southwind Ricardo has been synonmous with the Governors' Cup in recent years, and the eight-year-old's fondness for fall racing was once again evident in the second Governor's Cup division. Starting from the rail for driver Greg Sparling, Southwind Ricardo repelled all rivals with a gate-to-wire win in 1:56.3 — his fastest mile of the season. Denali Seelster (Adam Lynk) was next best after a pocket trip throughout while Daddy Let Me Drive (Rodney Gillis) showed good late kick to rally for third.
Southwind Ricardo is trained by Harold Le Blanc, and he co-owns the 46-time winner with Joel Le Blanc of Victoria Mines, William Seymour and Bernie Gillis of Glace Bay, N.S. The eight-year-old gelded son of Dragon Again - Southwind Rio now sports $116,517 in earnings.
To view the results for the Saturday card of harness racing from Cape Breton, click the following link: Saturday Results - Northside Downs.