One of the greatest Invitational pacers in the history of Atlantic Canadian harness racing begins his 2022 campaign on Saturday (May 21) at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
The capital oval has a 10-dash presentation starting at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday with Time To Dance headlining the ninth race preferred pace from the outside of a compact field of five.
Marc Campbell is back in the bike of his trainee in the $3,300 contest for owners Brent Campbell of Charlottetown and Matt McDonald of Edwards, Ont. The six-year-old son of A Rocknroll Dance was a 13-time winner from 18 starts last season while bankrolling $48,547. The Governor’s Plate Champion will have four seasoned foes to fend off on his way to a potential season opening win on Saturday.
Rose Run Quest was top dog in the preferred pace last week, and he has been unbeaten since joining the Melissa Rennie stable. Adam Merner will do the driving of the 56-time winner from Post 3 on Saturday. The front-running Burn Out Hanover draws the rail for a third straight start in the class with Brady Sweet at the controls for trainer Jeff Holmes.
Peter MacPhee sees the path to the winner’s circle going through Time To Dance in his seasonal debut.
“It’s hard to argue with what Time To Dance did last season reeling off 13 wins and a record of 1:51.3,” MacPhee said. “He won most of the big dances last year and Campbell knows him best so get ready for another successful campaign.”
Completing the field are Premier Joy A (Jason Hughes) and GA Speed Sammy (David Dowling).
My Land is the top choice in the fifth race back-up class for a $2,800 purse. Hughes drives the Jennifer Doyle trainee as he drops out of preferred company, drawing the rail. His top rivals include JK Express (Merner) and Screen Test (Corey MacPherson).
Catch all the world class harness racing action live at the track or tune into the Race Day broadcast at Redshores.ca. Online wagering is available at HPIBet.com. To view the entries for Saturday, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Charlottetown Driving Park
(Red Shores)
Time To Dance vs. Sock It Away?
After spending nearly 2 years on the shelf, Sock It Away was dominant in preferred paces until Charlottetown took its annual winter hiatus in January. I wonder if and when Sock It Away will resume racing? I don't think he and Time To Dance have ever raced against each other.