All The Weapons secured the lead after the three-quarter mark and held off Silent Swing in the stretch to claim the 50th edition of the $60,000 Gold Cup & Saucer
, presented by Sobeys, which wrapped up an action-packed double-header of racing on Saturday at Charlottetown Driving Park.
Pacific Oak (Brad Forward) left from the rail to take the early lead, but Along Came Polly (Paul MacKenzie) pulled out from the pocket and battled with the early front-runner past a sizzling :26.4 first quarter. Along Came Polly drove on to secure the top spot and put up a :53.4 half. From there, All The Weapons and trainer/driver Ken Oliver moved up for the challenge and pushed ahead at the 1:23.2 third quarter mark. As the seven-year-old Towners Big Guy-Jens Jet gelding entered the stretch, the backfield began to close in on the leader, but All The Weapons dug in and pulled off a 27-1 upset in 1:53 flat.
Fan favourite Silent Swing (Walter Hennessey) rallied strong to finished half a length back in second and 27-1 Secret Weapon (Doug McNair) came on for third.
“I just wish my grandfather could see me right now. It’s incredible,” said Oliver following the race.
“I just wanted to keep a position leaving out of there as they switched positions on the front. I knew we were going a lot. There was a big hole in front of the horse in front of me so I just wanted to sit handier. They were going enough, but he felt good. He never gave up. I was a little worried coming to the last turn. I looked over my shoulder and saw Silent Swing coming, but he just dug in.”
Owned by Shirley and Kerry House of St. Jacobs, Ont., All The Weapons scored his fifth win in 27 starts this season giving him $89,117 in purse earnings. The winner of 16 races lifetime has banked $231,959 to date.
In the first of two $10,500 Joe O'Brien Memorial Gold divisions for three-year-old pacing colts featured on the Gold Cup & Saucer undercard, Kingofthecastle prevailed in 1:57.4 after overcoming a huge trip for trainer/driver Earl Smith. The son of Western Success-Bourgeois Baby recovered from an early break and after racing three-wide for over half of a mile, Kingofthecastle sprinted home to win by a length and a quarter over pacesetter Calmlee Jason (Carl Isenor). Howmacs Dropnick (Paul MacKenzie) raced first-over to get third.
Lightly raced at two, Kingofthecastle notched his seventh win 12 starts this year and bumped his earned to $13,201 for owners Kyle Gardiner of Cardigan and Joseph Gardiner of Mount Stewart, P.E.I.
The second division was won by trainer/driver Gilles Barrieau and Ultimate Success, who rallied off the second-over cover of Porthill Gatsby (Todd Trites) and flew home to win in a career-best 1:55.1 by over six lengths. Porthill Gatsby stayed for second and Island Historic (Kenny Arsenault) finished third.
The son of Western Success-Mariart won for the fourth time in 11 starts this year for owners Robert Tilley, Lester Mott and Kelly Barrieau of Saint John, N.B. His seventh lifetime victory lifted his earnings to $17,286.
Oceanview Lije (1:58.3), Cruising Kyler (1:58.1) and Ellindale Rocket (1:59.1) each lowered their lifetime marks in a trio of $5,200 Joe O'Brien Memorial Grassroots divisions for three-year-old pacing colts.
In the $8,500 Spud Island Classic, Olivia Hall and Gilles Barrieau cleared the lead after :28.4 opening quarter ahead of Whitesand Whisper (Walter Hennessey) and then rolled past panels of :58.1 and 1:26.3 while favourite Abby Best (Clare MacDonald) advanced first-over. Entering the stretch, Olivia Hall had secured a two-length lead on the field, which allowed her to hold off Abby Best for the win by three-quarters of a length in a career-best 1:55.2. Whitesand Whisper was third.
Local trainer Ron Matheson shares ownership of the Blissful Hall-Original Artist mare with Tom Clark. The win was Olivia Hall’s third of the season in eight outings and 10th of her career. With the win, the five-year-old bay now sports a bankroll totaling $29,336.
Unfluffnbelievable was the wire-to-wire winner in the $3,000 consolation for driver Anthony MacDonald and trainer Darren Trainor, who co-owns with Jennifer Doyle of Vernon Bridge, P.E.I. The six-year-old Big Tom-Fluff Off mare stopped the clock in a career-best 1:56.
In the $8,500 Alpine Claiming Series final for $3,000 claiming horses and geldings, Mischievous Lad, with driver Stephane Gendron, survived a first-over journey to prevail by a half-length in 1:56.4 over the pacesetter, Master Of Ceremony (Marc Campbell). Island Jazzystar (John MacDonald) finished third off a pocket trip.
The nine-year-old gelded son of Tattlers Torpedo-Almahurst Imp finished fourth in the opening leg of the series and won his second leg division for trainer Jamie Copley and owners Jacob Copley of Greely, Ont. and Evan Gillis of Inverness, N.S. The win was Mischievous Lad’s seventh in 24 seasonal starts and 32nd of his career lifting his bankroll to $148,011.
In the $2,500 consolation, Mercedes Seelster sprinted home from fourth at the top of the stretch to win in 1:59 by a length over the pacesetter Pictonian Hector (Paul MacKenzie). The eight-year-old Camluck-Movin Along gelding was driven by Garry MacDonald, who shares ownership with Bruce Nisbet of Rockton, Ont., and is trained by Carrie Privett.
With John MacDonald in the sulky, Girl In A Hurry led the field of $3,000 claiming mares and fillies around the half-mile oval before stopping the clock in 1:57.3 to earn the lion’s share of the $5,700 purse in the ladies’ Alpine Claiming Series finale. Sugar Shuttle (Gary Chappell) finished two lengths back in second and Nothingbutbluesky (Garry MacDonald) finished third.
Girl In A Hurry was second in the opening leg of the series and won her second leg split for local trainer Andrew Moore, who shares ownership with Allan Moore. The five-year-old Cams Card Shark-Ever So Grateful mare scored her sixth lifetime victory and lifted her earnings to over $40,000.
Owned by Greenoaks Farm of Mississauga, Ont., Sarah Catherine and trainer/driver Marc Campbell advanced first-over from third at three-quarters to win the $2,500 consolation in 2:00.1. The four-year-old D M Dilinger-Woodmere Winny held off a quick-closing Springtown Prelude (Kenny Arsenault) by half a length for the victory.
In the $3,000 Papermaker Pace, Ryan Ellis’ San Marco Hanover went wire-to-wire to win in 1:55.3. Pans O Silver (Brodie MacPhee) finished a length back in second over the pocket-sitting Edgewater Rb (Jason Hughes).
The five-year-old son of Western Hanover-Spirited Legend, a winner of eight races and $44,326 lifetime, won for the fourth time in 14 starts this year.
Veteran pacer Porthill Alf also went down the road for driver Mike Stevenson to win the $2,500 purse in the Norman MacPhail Memorial. Setting the tempo in :27.4, :58.4 and 1:28, the nine-year-old kicked home to win by a length and three-quarters in 1:56.2. PH Super Dave (Walter Hennessy) rode the pocket to finish second and Rustleinthevines (Ken Murphy) came on for third.
Duane MacEachern conditions the homebred son of Largo-Island Perretti for owner Marvyn Webster of Kensington, P.E.I. For Porthill Alf, the win was his sixth in 21 starts this year and 48th lifetime pushing his earnings to $131,695.
In the $2,000 Invitational Trot featured on the afternoon card, Pick Up Point coasted past each quarter mark on top before kicking away by three and three-quarter lengths for a career-best 1:59.3 victory for driver Kenny Arsenault and owner/trainer David Ratchford. Saulsbrook Balance (Clare MacDonald) rode the pocket to finish second and Grayland Bling (Danny Romo) rallied from the backfield for third.
To view Saturday afternoon’s harness racing results, click here. For results from the evening program featuring the Gold Cup & Saucer, click here.
Congratulations to the
Congratulations to the owners of All the Weapons. Unfortunately they will be fined the entire purse amount, since this horse was claimed July 3rd and our claiming rules are very specific about racing out of the province.
This is the second year in a row this has happened; a horse being claimed in Ontario, going to the Cup and Saucer, but since nominations do not even open until one week prior, the horse is eligible to race, however will forfeit their entire earnings (the ORC vs Match Bayama last year).
Surely, you would think the race secretary, having experienced issues last year, would have advised the entrants that their participation would result in a fine equaling their entire earnings or 10% of the value of the claim for each start; whichever is greater.
If the owners, knowing they would forfeit the purse, still raced there for the prestige of winning; I congratulate them.
(perhaps this rule needs to be amended).
John