Despite a taxing first quarter, All Turain held off his main competitor in a stretch duel to win the featured $2,300 Preferred Pace on Saturday at Charlottetown Driving Park.
Leaving from the far outside in post eight, All Turain and driver Mike Stevenson were caught five-wide early on before eventually brushing up to make the lead past the opening quarter, which was clocked in :28.3 over the sloppy track with a two second allowance. All Turain proceeded to the half in :57.3 and three-quarters in 1:27 with pressure mounting in the form of first over challengers The Big Bite and Corey MacPherson. The top two pacers continued their battle down the stretch with All Turain digging in to prevail by a head in 1:57 flat. Early leader Cheyenne Ford, driven by Kenny Arsenault, finished one length behind in third.
All Turain is owned by Charlottetown's Lee Hicken and partner Perry Burke of Grosse-Ile, Que.
Trevor Hicken trains the five-year-old Tell All gelding, who notched his 12th win of the year in 20 starts. With an annual income amounting to more than $28,000, All Turain is just a few thousand dollars shy of the $100,000 lifetime earnings mark.
All Turain paid $8.30 to win as the 3-1 third choice in the field of nine.
The feature win gave Stevenson a driving double on the 15-race card. Jason Hughes also had two wins while Marc Campbell tripled and maintained a slight edge over Hughes (118-115) in the track's 2014 standings.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Charlottetown Driving Park.