With a fresh driver in the seat, there was no stopping Twin B Tuffenuff in the St. Peters Volunteer Fire Department Pace on a rescheduled Monday (Sept. 18) evening card at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
The program was originally scheduled for Saturday evening but was rescheduled due to Hurricane Lee hitting the region on the weekend. The move in dates conflicted with travel schedules for Twin B Tuffenuff’s regular driver Gilles Barrieau, but with top Atlantic Canadian reinsman Corey MacPherson not originally scheduled to drive on the night as he was committed to stakes races in Cape Breton on Saturday, it left the Cornwall, P.E.I. driver available to pick up the majority of Barrieau’s mounts.
One of those drives was in the $3,800 Preferred Pace with Twin B Tuffenuff and MacPherson took advance as he pointed the favourite to the lead and never looked back through splits of :28.1, :57, 1:25.2 and 1:52.2 by open lengths. Stash It Away (Ken Murphy) was in hot pursuit in second ahead of Century Invictus (Jason Hughes).
Ron Matheson trains the winning pacer for owner Pat Morris of Charlottetown.
The David Dowling barn was strong on the evening with two wins including in the $3,500 Fillies and Mares Preferred Pace with Tobins Brownie in 1:54.4. Middleton Terror was another Dowling winner as he stopped the clock in 1:56.3 in race three.
Trainer-driver Hughes made a pair of trips to the winner’s circle from his Charlottetown barn. ‘The Blue Knight’ steered Tobins Barn Party to a 1:59.4 maiden-breaking score in race two then came back later in the card to win with Spicey P in 1:56.1.
Ken Murphy had three winners on the night as he steered his father Clifford Murphy’s trainees The Mad Dragon (1:56.4) and Redwhiteandboots (1:57.3) to victory along with the Gary Poulton trained Zaidans Luck in a 1:57.2 mile.
Live racing continues Tuesday, Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. at Red Shores Summerside featuring a leg of the Fox Group Island Trot Challenge.
To view Monday's harness racing results, click the following link: Monday Results - Red Shores at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
(Red Shores)