Driver Marc Campbell not only swept the trio of Atlantic Sires Stakes (ATSS) contests for sophomore pacing fillies – setting a track record in the process – he also added four more winners over the 15-race card at Northside Downs on Saturday, June 20.
In the first of two $16,300 ATSS ‘A’ divisions, Campbell and Alwaysinfullforce ($2.20) established a new speed standard for three-year-old pacing fillies at Northside. The duo left from post five to settle on the lead shortly after a :28.1 first quarter. The favoured Mike McGuigan trainee paced a :56.2 first half before drawing away from the field by 5-1/4 lengths at the next station in 1:26.2. The Force N Fury-Toujours sophomore kicked home in :29 to finish 14 lengths in front, tripping the timer in a lifetime-best 1:55.2. Going For Blood (Ken Arsenault) paced home a distant second, with Mysterious Ways (Ryan Campbell) finishing third.
The winning time eclipsed Dustylane Zambucca’s previous mark of 1:56, set on Aug. 29, 2020 at the North Sydney, N.S. oval.
Bred by James Whalen and owned by James Whalen Jr. of Vernon River, P.E.I., Alwaysinfullforce has three wins in six seasonal starts and is 4-4-5 in 19 career attempts with a bankroll of $42,544.
Campbell completed the ATSS sweep by guiding the undefeated Windemere Skye ($2.10) to a gate-to-wire score in 1:56.2.
Starting from the rail, the favourite led the field through fractions of :28.2, :57.1 and 1:26.1, one-fifth faster than Alwaysinfullforce’s track record pace set earlier in the card. The Earl Watts pupil closed out the mile with a :30.1 last quarter to win by 2-1/2 lengths. Magnificent Rose (Clare MacDonald) finished second followed by Fern Hill Kream (Brodie MacPhee).
The winning Somewhere Fancy-Howmac Missy lass improved her career tally to 15 wins in as many starts for the partnership of breeder Windemere Farms of Springvale, P.E.I. and Matt Burke of Stratford, P.E.I. Windemere Skye has now earned $149,842.
Campbell’s first ATSS victory came in the lone $6,000 ‘B’ division, carded as the fourth race on the program. Lining up in the outside post with Tarariser This ($8.80), a filly trained by his son Landon, Campbell had her last in the field of five through opening splits of :29.2 and :59.4. Favourite and leader Rose Knows Money (Brodie MacPhee) endured a challenge from U Bettim Eazy (Ryan Campbell) before the latter tucked in line. When West River Kennedy and Clare MacDonald abandoned the pylons to advance on the outside to three-quarters in 1:29, Campbell followed with the daughter of Stonebridge Terror-Expressly Hanover.
Racing through the last turn, Tarariser This was three-wide and flying. She sprinted home quickest of all, using a :29.1 last quarter to finish a half-length in front of West River Kennedy in a time of 1:59.1. Rose Knows Money finished third.
Tarariser This is 2-1-0 in five seasonal starts after going 0-1-2 in eight attempts at age two. Bred by Danica Ellis and owned by Jeff Valley of Thornton, Ont., the sophomore established a new mark in victory. Her career earnings stand at $11,478.
Campbell reached the winner’s circle early and often. He also collected victories with Finer Things (Race 3, $4.80), Ranked Contender (Race 9, $2.80), Dont Ask Logan (Race 11, $2.80) and Alritealritealrite (Race 13, $4). He also finished the day with three runner-up efforts.
Saturday’s card also featured a pair of $9,020 divisions of the Phil Pinkney Memorial for sophomore pacing colts. Trainer Bernard McCallum swept the divisions with trainees Smilin With Lou and Darbies Fancy.
In the first split, Smilin With Lou ($3), driven by McCallum, gapped off the gate at the start, racing last in the field of five to the quarter in :29.1. However, by the time the group passed the grandstand for the second time, the favourite was out and marching to the front. The son of Blood Money-Keep Smiling closed on leader Tiziano (Clare MacDonald) through splits of 1:00 and 1:30.2 and continued to grind on the outside into the last turn. Racing into the stretch, Smilin With Lou sprinted home in :29.3 to win by a half-length in 2:00. Woodmere Novak (Marc Campbell) slipped up the inside to finish second with Tiziano taking third.
Bred and owned by Gordon McCabe of Onslow Mountain, N.S., Smilin With Lou has won two of four seasonal starts. The colt has hit the board in seven of 15 career attempts with two wins and has banked $15,612.
Second choice Darbies Fancy ($4.70) started from the rail and received every call on the way to a 1:58 score in the second Pinkney Memorial division. Steered by Mark Pezzarello for McCallum, the Somewhere Fancy-Darbies Destiny colt set fractions of :29.3, 1:00 and 1:29 en route to his third win in four seasonal starts. Tobins Gem (Marc Campbell) was 1-1/4 lengths back in second, followed by Proven Houdini (Clare MacDonald).
The Kevin Bailey-bred sophomore sports a 5-2-7 record in 15 career attempts. Owned by Rebecca MacKenzie of Dominion, N.S. and Sandra O'Donnell of Scotchtown, N.S., Darbies Fancy has accumulated $43,423 in his career.
Mappos Lion ($2.10) kept his place as king of the Winners Over ranks as the Ken Collins trainee extended his perfect seasonal record to six-for-six with his ninth straight win. Ryan Campbell sent him four-wide from post six into the first turn to grab the front in the $1,600 Winners Over Handicap Pace, and Mappos Lion was on cruise control through the remainder. He rattled off :28.1, :57.2 and 1:26.2 panels and rolled to a four-length victory in 1:56. Kountry Diamond (Myles Heffernan) finished second over Hugh Heff (Randy Getto).
Mappos Lion now holds a record of 11-for-12 over the past two seasons, which he has spent in the Maritimes. The Nova Scotia-bred returned to Atlantic Canada from Ontario after his 2024 campaign for owners Hailee Currie of Rocky Point, P.E.I. and Carol Campbell of Baddeck, N.S. The nine-year-old Sunshine Beach-Pacific Playmate gelding is now 36-for-89 lifetime with a bankroll of $322,107.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Northside Downs.
(Standardbred Canada; photo of Windemere Skye winning on June 20)