The Saturday (October 27) card of harness racing at Northside Downs featured the kick off to both the Northside vs. Inverness Driver Challenge as well as the Governors Cup Series.
Driver Redmond Doucet swept both races in the opening leg of the Northside vs. Inverness Driver Challenge to take the early lead. Doucet guided Southwind Jagger and Tiger Town to the winner's circle for 32 points in the first of three legs.
1. Redmond Doucet (32 points)
2. Mark Pezzarello (24 points)
3. Gerard Kennedy (16 points)
4. Rodney Gillis (14 points)
5. Ryan Campbell (10 points)
6. Andrew MacLean (4 points)
The participating drivers will compete in two races per day over the next two race cards (Saturday, Nov. 3; Saturday, Nov. 10). The reinsmen will battle to be the top driver on the island and will win a helmet painting donated by Leblanc Design and a gift card towards a uniform from Grahams Racing Silks.
Burn Em Up Burr made every call a winning one in the first division of the first leg of the Governors Cup Series. Gerard Kennedy placed the pacer on the front and played catch-me-if-you-can through fractions of :29.1, :59.3 and 1:29.1 before sealing the deal with a :30.2 closing quarter to hit the wire in 1:59.3. Tipperbackjack (Redmond Doucet) was second after racing overland for the majority of the mile with Eastview Dexter completing the top three.
Heather Hawkins owns and trains Burn Em Up Burr (Whosurboy - Armbro Bailey), now with six wins on the season and 21 over his career.
Doucet found Bonnys Mac room to emerge from the pocket with a quarter of a mile to go in the second division of the Governors Cup, persevered past pacesetter Putnams Power and then held off late bids of Dreamfair Van Dam (Kennedy) and Wildcat Jet (Kevin Bailey) to take the second division in 2:01.1.
Allan Gillis of Inverness, N.S. trains and owns 10-year-old Bonnys Mac (Western Paradise - Bonnie G Mac) now a winner of 38 races and more than $77,000 in purses in his career.
Dragons Fire (Mark Pezzarello) followed the three-wide backstretch brush of Surrealist (Ryan Campbell) in the third and final Governors Cup division, then mowed down that foe late for the victory by a neck in 2:01. Makes Me Stupid (Doucet) completed the triactor.
Dragons Fire (Dragon Again - Tarport Herald) picked up his 22nd career win for trainer Max Sehl and co-owners Peter Jardine and Virginia Merner of Nova Scotia.
The Governors Cup Series is for pacers that are non-winners of $10,000 in 2018 up to and including Sunday, October 21. Horses must compete in both legs to be eligible for final and/or consolation, with the second leg slated for Saturday, November 3. The $5,000 Guaranteed Final will be contested on Saturday, November 10.
To view the results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Northside Downs.