Tobins Chester was among the stars featured on an action-packed Sunday, July 28 afternoon at Inverness Raceway as the streaking three-year-old pacer continued his perfect Atlantic Sires Stakes season.
Sophomore pacing colts and geldings faced off in the fourth leg of the Atlantic Sires Stakes with Tobins Chester winning the $23,020 'A' division in 1:55.2 by four lengths over favoured Merigo Magic for driver Jason Hughes and trainer Ashley Gamester.
The top two finishers overcame their trailing tier starts in the field of eight with Tobins Chester on the move from an early six-hole heading to the half and making a three-wide move around stalled cover down the backstretch to take it to the leading Reassurance at the 1:27.2 third quarter mark. Tobins Chester went by the pacesetter in the final turn and drew off down the stretch with a :28 final frame. Merigo Magic tracked the winner's cover and closed for second over Reassurance.
Owned by Donald MacRae of Vernon Bridge, P.E.I., the defending Atlantic Breeders Crown champion has earned five (consecutive) wins from six stakes starts this year. The Shanghai Phil-Putnam MacKenzie gelding is 12-for-16 lifetime with earnings approaching six figures, now at $94,113.
Tobins Chester will look to complete a sweep of the preliminary Sires Stakes legs in the fifth round scheduled for Aug. 12 at Charlottetown Driving Park.
The first of two $6,000 'B' divisions was won by the late-driving Jack Boswell (Tobago Cays-Someshoresomewhere), who was pocketed after a first quarter tussle and fanned out wide for the stretch drive by Marc Campbell to get the job done in 1:58.4 for trainer and co-owner Keith MacDonell. Mark MacDonell and Blenise Young share ownership of the gelding, a three-time winner in this stakes series.
Driven by Redmond Doucet, the Robert MacLeod-trained Ol Chunk Of Coal (Shanghai Phil-Goddess Angel) took a two-hole tuck early on and nailed pacesetter Southfield Patrick on the line for the 1:58.2 victory in the second 'B' division. He is owned by Hugh and Ali MacEachern.
Three-year-old pacing fillies took their turn in the stakes spotlight in a pair of $14,440 divisions of the Phil Pinkney Memorial (formerly the Nova Scotia Stakes).
A winner in this stakes event as a freshman, Saulsbrook Feisty partnered up with Redmond Doucet to repeat in 1:58.3 after making a mid-race winning move to take command. Owned by trainer Carrie Saunders and Lois Saunders, the Big Jim-First Delight filly is now a three-time stakes winner from five sophomore starts after a 2-1/2-length score over her closest competitor, Waterford Girl.
Fern Hill Indigo dominated her division, winning by more than a dozen lengths in 1:57.2 with Brodie MacPhee along for the ride. The victory ended a string of runner-up finishes in stakes action for the Malicious-Noble Ellen filly and marked her third win in nine starts this season for trainer Tom Weatherbie and Next Generation Stable.
A pair of $12,000-plus Pinkney Stakes for trotters were also contested as non-wagering races on Sunday with West River Jet equalling the two-year-old trot track record of 2:04.1 in a 14-length romp in his third career start over stablemate Marcus Down Ridge and filly Majian Mystery. The E L Rocket-Kaddys Angel colt is campaigned by the MacDonald family -- driver Ken, trainer Clare and their daughter Haley, owner of the two-time winner.
The three-year-old division ended in a dead-heat as the E L Rocket filly Dusty Lane Mable (dam Muscle Mannequin) and gelding Majian Rocket (dam Majian Candor) could not be separated at the wire in 2:06.1, finishing one length ahead of filly Allstar Katrina. George Rennison trains and drives the grey filly Dusty Lane Mable, who broke her maiden in her 12th start, for Rennison Racing Inc., Nicholas Flemming and David O'Neill. Trainer/driver James Ripley's homebred gelding Majian Rocket was unraced as a two-year-old and picked up his first career win in his third start.
The region's Open pacers closed out Sunday's racing in the $3,000 Johnny And Margaret Allan Ian Pace, won by Delightful Wine, and $8,000 Inverness Invitational, won by American Risk.
Delightful Wine capped off a five-win day for driver Marc Campbell as he wore down the pacesetting Rotten Ronnie in 1:57.4, with pocket-sitter Yacht Seelster closing for third up the inside. Locked in mid-pack along the pylons for most of the mile, a patient Campell took a run at the leader when the outer flow disintegrated around the final turn and Delightful Wine got up for the victory by three-quarters of a length. A six-year-old Bettors Delight gelding out of Wine With Me, Delightful Wine is owned by trainer Madison Poirier and Erland Campbell.
An 83-time winner, 12-year-old pacer Euchred was honoured in a retirement ceremony following the afternoon's Winners Over event. The Shadow Play-Tipsy Taters gelding went out a winner in last Wednesday's top pace at Inverness for local trainer/driver Walter Walker and owner Kayla Habicht Walker.
With the winning catch-drive in the finale to wrap up Inverness Gathering Week, Andy Campbell slid American Risk out of the pocket at the head of the stretch and prevailed by half a length over pacesetter Time To Dance in 1:56.3 while Batterup Hanover completed the top three finish order. The eight-year-old gelding, who has won half of his 10 seasonal starts, is undefeated at the Inverness oval (three-for-three lifetime) and now boasts 39 career victories. The gelded son of American Ideal and Kissing Bandit is owned Risky Bizz Group.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Inverness Raceway.
(Standardbred Canada; photo of Tobins Chester from a previous win)