The Thursday evening (Sept. 1) program of harness racing will have all the stars trotting their stuff in Lady Slipper action at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
The Capital oval has a 13-dash card on tap starting at 6 p.m. and race 10 promises to be one to watch as a trio of the top trotters on the Eastern Seaboard will do battle.
The $7,500 Lady Slipper Stakes three-year-old colt trotting event has Up Helly AA looking to rekindle his win streak after having his old one snapped at 14 straight last week at Inverness Raceway in Nova Scotia. Ken MacDonald drives the son of Armbro Barrister for trainer Clare MacDonald and owner Riley Farms Ltd. of Summerside, P.E.I.
He will have some real challenges in the dash as two-year-old track record holder Southwind Arturo returns to Atlantic Canada from Ontario. The sophomore colt draws the rail and is back in the hands of trainer/driver Marc Campbell as the field threatens to put Mabou Ridge’s 1:58.1 three-year-old track record from 2020 in jeopardy.
Headline Howie has been sharp in recent stakes action and has post five in the field for trainer/driver Mike McGuigan.
The "Post Time Picks" put Up Helly AA on top of the stakes showdown: “Up Helly AA saw his long win snapped at Inverness but all good things come to an end. Now he lands on the pylons and MacDonald will have him well placed so be prepared to see them smiling for the camera.”
Cadillac (driven by Clare MacDonald) is the favourite in the other three-year-old colt trot Lady Slipper division vying for the lion’s share of the $7,500 purse from post five.
The three-year-old trot fillies have $7,500 divisions in races two and eight. Defriended (Myles Heffernan Sr.) has the rail in race eight as the Charlottetown three-year-old filly track record holder is fresh off of defeating Up Helly AA in her last start. Majian Salsa gets top billing in race two for trainer-driver Jim Ripley of Amherst, N.S.
Irish Ray will continue to put perfection to the test in race six for a $12,700 pot in a Lady Slipper two-year-old colt trot event. Campbell trains and drives the Muscle Through It gelding for owners Three Wisemen Stable of Kingston, P.E.I. Irish Ray has won all five of his lifetime starts by a combined 54 lengths.
The Lady Slipper for two-year-old trotting fillies has only attracted a field of three and the $12,700 race will be held as a non-wagering event at 5:45 p.m. Camco Erin is the top selection for trainer/driver McGuigan.
Good Luck Kathy makes her final pari-mutuel start on the card. The 12-year-old mare, owned by Janet Compton and trained by Ron Matheson, makes her 342nd lifetime appearance in race seven with Brodie MacPhee in the bike. The pacing star has earned $173,524 throughout her career.
To view Thursday's harness racing entries, click the following link: Thursday Entries - Charlottetown Driving Park.
(Red Shores)