Clare MacDonald trainees West River Ambyr and Heart And Soul secured their positions as the two-year-old division leaders in the Atlantic Sires Stakes (ATSS) on Saturday afternoon as Northside Downs hosted the final leg of the regular season.
Entering Saturday's fifth and final leg of the Sires Stakes season, West River Ambyr was tied atop the leaderboard for two-year-old filly pacers with Scarlet Safari, but she pulled ahead with a 2:01 triumph in their $17,900 "A" event. Trainer/driver Clare MacDonald shares ownership of the homebred Brandons Cowboy miss with her daughter Haley.
Leaving from post three, West River Ambyr established the lead through a 29-second first quarter and fought back when challenged by eventual breaker Paradise Paradox at the half in :59.4. She continued on to three-quarters in 1:30.1 and held off Brookdale Liz by three-quarters of a length for her third Sires Stakes score. Howmacfiesty came from last to show. Scarlet Safari, meanwhile, suffered interference when Paradise Paradox broke stride and was taken out of contention.
West River Ambyr now boasts four wins in nine starts and has finished no worse than third for earnings totalling $25,671.
Fresh off back-to-back record performances at Red Shores' Charlottetown and Summerside tracks, Heart And Soul captured one of two $9,760 "A" divisions for the colts, scoring in 1:58.3, also for trainer/driver Clare MacDonald and owners Earith and George Riley of Kensington, P.E.I.
The homebred Western Paradise gelding swept up from third after opening fractions of :28.2 and :59.4 to take the lead from Magical Cowboy before the 1:29 third quarter mark. He then cruised home to win by one length over Brandons Glory. Lukes Cowboy finished one and three-quarter lengths behind in third while the rest of the field trailed farther back.
With the victory, Heart And Soul took over the lead in the divisional point standings ahead of Jackson K Down, who is undefeated in the season's first four Sires Stakes events but skipped the last leg. Heart And Soul now has four wins and one second-place finish in ATSS action. For his debut season, he has a record of six wins in eight starts, including his last five in a row, and $25,206 in purse earnings for never missing the board.
In the afternoon's other colt division, Dilans Mustang went wire-to-wire to break his maiden in 2:00.4 for trainer/driver Mike McGuigan and owner Marc Gallant of Summerside, P.E.I. The Aahm Canadian Now ridgling took the lead from post two and carved out panels of :29.2, 1:01.1 and 1:31.4 en route to the one-length victory with Howmacsblackjack following in second and Pro Side finishing third. The win was his first in nine starts and followed up three third-place finishes in previous Sires Stakes legs.
Saturday's events wrapped up the Atlantic Sires Stakes regular season. The top point earners from each division will now move on to the Atlantic Breeders Crown Championships. The Weekend of Champions will be hosted by Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park on October 10 and 11.
During Saturday's undercard, local horsewoman Diane Collins celebrated her first career training win as three-year-old pacer Seaside Ace broke his maiden in the opener in a time of 2:06.2 with Colin Kelly driving.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Northside Downs.