Mr Salming notched his fifth consecutive stakes victory in a division of the Bill Quigg Memorial Stake for three-year-old pacers Saturday during an action-packed double header at Fredericton Raceway
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In the first of two $9,633 colt divisions contested during the evening program, trainer-driver Gilles Barrieau sent fan favourite Mr Salming first up from third after the opening quarter and edged out pacesetter Dr Alexander B (Shane Bernard) by a quarter length in 1:57.2. T M Top Gun (Darren Crowe) finished two and a half lengths behind in third.
Mr Salming now sports a sophomore record of 6-3-2 in 12 starts with $35,040 earned for owners Boyd Macdonald Prodce Ltd. of Crapaud and Daniel Ross of Belfast, PE. The son of Coastocoast Yankee-First To Fly is a three-time Atlantic Sires Stakes winner this season and boasts victories in a Joe O’Brien Memorial Gold division and Bob Dewar Memorial Stake.
In the other colt division, 6-1 Unstoppable Speed and driver Brian MacPhee converted from the pocket and beat out the first over Electrofire (Darren Crowe) and the favoured pacesetter Allbentouttashape (Sean Dooley) in a photo finish. The time of the mile was 1:58.2.
Mitchell Tierney trains the son of Benvolio Hanover-Jk Drop Off and shares ownership with Sterling and Kelsie Buchanan of Bonshaw and Jaime Lynne Tierney of Cornwall, PE. The win was the gelding’s fifth in 11 starts this season and boosted his bankroll to $12,265.
Barrieau also pulled off a sweep of the Bill Quigg Memorial Stake for fillies with R Es Miss Jen and Scootingforsuccess during the afternoon program.
R Es Miss Jen, the 5-2 second choice in the first $9,633 filly division, advanced to the lead from fifth after the opening quarter and built up a 10-length lead en route to career-best victory in 1:59.3. Hey Jean (Marc Campbell) finished second over favourite Elm Grove Ella (Clare MacDonald).
Barrieau drove the winning daughter of N Xample-R Es Jen for trainer Blaine McKenna, who also co-owns with Harold Culleton of Ellerslie, PE. R Es Miss Jen notched her second (consecutive) win of the season in 15 starts and pushed her 2010 earnings to $11,121.
The Maritimer runner-up Scootingforsuccess survived an overland journey to capture the next division in 1:58.4 by a length and a half. Early leader Seawind Allegra (Danny Romo) stayed for second with Shesa Mint (Gary Chappell) finishing over five lengths back in third.
Wade Sorrie trains the popular Western Success-Scooting Annie miss for owner Walter Simmons of Summerside, PE. The win was her fifth in 14 tries this year and lifted her seasonal earnings to $27,479.
Formal Affair matched Outlawpositivcharg’s 1:55.2 track record for aged geldings in the $7,500 Jennie & Joe Chippin Memorial. The five-year-old son of Real Desire-Little Black Dress sat third while favourite Proven Lover (Gary Chappell) carved out early fractions of :27.3 and :58.2. Formal Affair, the 3-1 third choice, then charged to command and hit three-quarters in 1:26.2 before opening up seven lengths on the field. The time of the mile was just two-fifths of a second off the overall aged record set by Shannon Commander back in 1993. The pocket-sitting Outlawpositivcharg (Terry Gallant) finished second with Proven Lover settling for third after suffering broken equipment.
Trainer Garry MacDonald drove the winner of six races in 21 starts this year and $41,125 for co-owners Ronnie and Dale Rennie of Elmsdale, PE. Formal Affair now sports 10 wins on his resume with $80,870 banked over the course of his career.
Melvin Land’s homebred Jags Rasin went gate-to-wire to pull off a 9-1 upset in the $2,500 Albert Goodine Memorial Jr. Invitational in 1:57.2. Driven by Stephen Trites, the six-year-old gelded son of Rayson Hanover-Some Nice Jag held off favourite Grace And Harv (Gilles Barrieau) by a length and a half while Pans O Silver (Brian MacPhee) finished third.
The win was Jags Rasin’s fourth in 12 outings this year for trainer Sandra Foley. His 2010 earnings now stand at $4,510.
To view Saturday’s results, click here.