The summer racing meet is hitting full stride at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park but the fact remains that from four Preferred Paces held so far this season, Euchred has only been defeated once.
Euchred will be saddled with post five on Saturday evening in the race nine Preferred Pace at the capital oval that has a 6 p.m. first race post time. The $2,650 top event has Euchred assigned the outside in the compact field of five with Adam Merner back in the bike for trainer Terry Gallant and owner Kayla Habicht Walker of Inverness, N.S. The six-year-old son of Shadow Play only tasted East Coast defeat once so far in 2018 and that was at the hooves of Czar Seelster, who gets post three this week after been absent from this class on May 19. Kenny Arsenault drives Czar Seelster for trainer Todd Weatherbee and owner Tammy Johnston of Stratford, P.E.I.
Whoever controls the front end has hit the winner’s circle in every Preferred Pace so far this season, but despite the outside post, race analyst Les MacIsaac still thinks Euchred can get his third win in a row on Saturday evening.
“Euchred was three-wide to a 27-second opening quarter last week and still left his rivals in the dust with a closing panel in 29 seconds flat,” MacIsaac said. “That makes three wins from four tries and other than the likely short price there's not much to dislike.”
Other entries include Winter Blast (driven by Jason Hughes), Cartoon Daddy (Corey MacPherson) and Rose Run Quest (Marc Campbell).
Another tight knit group of top pacers will line up in race seven on the program in the $2,200 back-up pace. Mr Irresistible draws the outside for driver Hughes and trainer Jennifer Doyle. The six-year-old son of Mister Big was a convincing winner in 1:55.4 in his latest outing but has some talented pacers leaving on his inside. The iron tough Junebugs Baby has post four in the event and is reunited with driver Myles Heffernan Sr. this week. The son of Western Paradise has proven more than capable of knocking off top pacers as his biggest victory of 2017 was defeating Mr Irresistible in a stretch drive in the Cecil Ladner Memorial Invitational. Zero Rate (Kenny Arsenault) has rail control in the Saturday event, with Tobinator (MacPherson) and Ashes To Ashes (Gilles Barrieau) rounding out the field.
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To view Saturday's harness racing entries, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Charlottetown Driving Park.
(With files from Red Shores)