Unhurried at the start, Roll Em started off his season on the right foot with a $3,800 Preferred Pace victory on Saturday evening (May 20) at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park on a night which also saw driver Jason Hughes bag five wins.
Trainer Marc Campbell was in the driver’s seat behind the five-year-old Indiana-bred pacer as he came first over on pacesetter Middleton Terror (David Dowling) at a comfortable :58.3 half-mile clocking and went toe-to-toe with him for the last three-eighths of a mile. Roll Em was victorious in the stretch drive by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:54.1 with a last half of :55.3. Middleton Terror hung on for second ahead of Fern Hill General (Brodie MacPhee). Brady Doyle shares ownership of the winning pacer with Brent Campbell, Ryan MacLeod and Kent MacDonald.
Campbell had three driving wins on the night as Bacononabiscuit had a maiden-breaking score in 1:58.2 for trainer Stacey Darrach and Ys Mathis recorded the fastest mile ever seen on the Eastern Seaboard in the month of May with a 1:51.4 victory from Campbell’s own stable.
Dowling doubled as a trainer-driver with the Bobby Gordon-bred duo of Elm Grove Redwine (1:57.2) and Elm Grove Restwind (1:58.1).
Jason Hughes had the hot hands on the evening with five wins on the 12-dash card, starting with Century Invictus (1:56.3) from his own stable in Race 1. In Race 2, Money On The Beach (1:58.2) won from the Ron Matheson barn then Good Eye Hawkeye (1:58.1) shot up the passing lane to win Race 3 for Hughes and trainer Kyle Wilkie. Trainer Vaughan Doyle and Hughes teamed up in Race 7 for a 1:56.4 clock-stopper by Brookdale Ollie then Rollwithhottytoddy (1:54, pictured above) was the best in Race 11 from the Trevor Hicken Stable for the handful of victories for "The Blue Knight."
Live harness racing continues Monday afternoon at 1 p.m. (ADT) for the season opener at Red Shores Summerside on a special Victoria Day program.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Charlottetown Driving Park.
(with files from Red Shores)