The heaviest of favourites, and the easiest of winners.
If the 2026 debut of Mappos Lion needed to be summed up in less than 10 words, that sentence would deliver in nine — just as the nine-year-old pacer did in the top class at Northside Downs on Saturday, May 16.
Last week, Mappos Lion prepped for his return to racing with a 1:59.3 qualifier over the Cape Breton half-mile oval. A two-minute mile wasn't necessary to prevail in Saturday's $1,600 Winners Over feature.
Ryan Campbell landed the 1-9 shot on top early and Mappos Lion handled business from there. After a :29.3 opening quarter, Campbell ratcheted down the speed by stealing 10-ply middle fractions of 1:01.2 and 1:31.1. Mappos Lion powered home as he opened the mile, with a :29.3 final quarter to trip the timer in 2:00.4. Red Rum She Wrote (Martin Bates) finished second in a race for place some five-plus lengths back of the leader. Ranked Contender (Ardon Mofford) finished third but was placed back to fifth for a pylon violation in the stretch. Thunder Alley (Kevin Bailey) finished fourth but was bumped up to third after the disqualification.
Mappos Lion (Sunshine Beach - Pacific Playmate) sports 31 career victories with $318,327 in purses. Lee Collins handles the training for owners Hailee Currie of Rocky Point, P.E.I. and Carol Campbell of Baddeck, N.S. He returned $2.10 to win.
If Mappos Lion was the equine star of the card, Warren MacKinnon definitely garnered star of the card honours among the people participating on Saturday. The New Waterford, N.S. horseman sent out six horses on the afternoon and all six hit the tote board, with three winners and a 3-2-1 summary by the time the card concluded.
MacKinnon started his day successfully courtesy driver Ardon Mofford and first race winner Maverick Treasure (2:03.1; $2.10), then he swept the daily double himself by notching his first driving victory since 2017 aboard Jims Big Thrill (2:02; $6.30). Mofford and MacKinnon ended the card how they started, connecting with Kraken Seelster (1:59.3; $2.40) to complete the MacKinnon hat trick.
Coming into Saturday, MacKinnon sported a 0.537 UTRS. He left Northside with a stellar 0.638 average. The triple gives him 64 career training victories in 598 starts.
To view the results from Saturday's card of harness racing in North Sydney, click the following link: Saturday Results - Northside Downs.
(Standardbred Canada)