The Blue Knight rises in the driver’s standings. Jason Hughes was the star of the show Saturday afternoon for Canada Day racing at Red Shores at the Summerside Raceway as he won five races on the 13-dash card to push himself to second-place amongst reinsman at the Prince County oval.
Nicknamed "The Blue Knight,” Hughes’ victories included a mild upset in the $2,200 Canada Day Pace feature with Narragansett in 1:56.1. The Hughes-trained and driven pacer scored a one-length victory over race favourite Eagle Jolt (driven by Marc Campbell) with Windemere Rene (Gary Chappell) third. Narragansett is owned by Foxyhall Racing of Wallace, N.S.
Hughes captured the top trot on the day winning the $1,600 race with I Aint No Lady in 2:00.1 for trainer Garth Cole and owner Sandra Cole of Kensington, P.E.I. Hughes also scored a 1:56 victory with Governor’s Plate hopeful Good Friday Three for trainer Wade Sorrie, a 1:58.4 winner’s circle visit with Rising Fella for trainer Jansen Sweet and a new lifetime mark of 1:56.3 for Alan MacDonald trainee Old Buck.
Driver Marc Campbell had a pair of wins on the program as he continues to lead the driver’s standings and now has 17 wins to second-place Hughes’ 10 victories. Campbell’s Saturday afternoon wins produced a pair of new lifetime marks for both Maritime-bred pacers as Doncallme Dude won in 1:57.3 for trainer Michael MacDonald of Orwell, P.E.I., and Johnny Moe was a 1:56.3 victor from Campbell's own barn.
The Canada Day card also featured each race named in appreciation for over 20 individuals that have shown continuous dedication to Island harness racing.
Live racing continues at Red Shores Summerside next Sunday (July 9) as Governor’s Plate Week racing gets underway with the Governor’s Plate Invitational eliminations and the Lobster Carnival Mares eliminations.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Summerside Raceway.
(With files from Red Shores)