Two of the greatest Atlantic-bred pacers of all time went toe to toe in Sunday's (Dec. 26) $3,400 Boxing Day Pace at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park, with Sock It Away hanging on for the victory in an epic stretch drive.
Sock It Away controlled the $3,400 feature from the rail as driver Marc Campbell sprinted him through splits of :27.2, :55.4 and 1:25.2 before the richest Atlantic-bred of all-time, The Rev (Gilles Barrieau), came off his back to contest the stretch drive. Sock It Away dug deep in the final strides to fend off The Rev for a 1:54.4 victory for trainer Kevin MacLean and owner Reg MacPherson. The Rev was second ahead of Ladylike (David Dowling).
Campbell continued his dash title dominance with three winners on the day including Arc Light (1:57.3) from his own barn and I Can Do It (1:59.3) for trainer Keith Ford. Campbell is nearing his 12th straight driving title at Red Shores Charlottetown.
Campbell may have the dash title tied up, but blue and white were were the most prominent colours in the historic winner’s circle on Boxing Day as driver Adam Merner had five trips to get his photo taken. Merner won the opener with Outrageous Spirit (2:01) for trainer Kevin Peters, followed by a win with Lyons Image (1:58.4) from the Colin Johnson barn and a victory with Elm Grove Mistress (1:58.1) for conditioner Jennifer Doyle. Merner also hit the wire first with two horses for his partner, trainer Melissa Rennie: The Ironman (2:00.2) and Kataparka (1:56.2).
Total handle on the Boxing Day program was $81,189. Live racing continuing Friday evening (Dec. 31) at 6:30 p.m. for a special New Year’s Eve presentation.
To view Sunday's complete results, click the following link: Sunday Results – Red Shores Charlottetown.
(With files from Red Shores)