There could be a name change in store for Therealprincess as the sophomore filly is establishing herself as the heir to the throne for pacing distaffers in Atlantic Canada, and possibly the next Queen of the Maritimes.
On Saturday (Sept. 3) at Exhibition Park Raceway, Therealprincess added two wins to her ledger and extended her unbeaten streak to 11 with a straight heat victory in the 2022 Maritimer Stake for three-year-old pacing fillies.
The daughter of Source Of Pride - Deviliciously Good captured the first heat of the Maritimer in 1:59, winning by a length for driver Corey MacPherson. The tandem came back five dashes later to score from the rail in a wire-to-wire 1:58.1 effort.
Cougar On A Terr, the other heat winner, was second for driver Donny Gillis with Ultimate Longshot and Paul Langille completing the triactor in the final. Therealprincess paid $2.90 to win.
With the two victories on the day, Therealprincess now sports a summary of 16-2-1 from 23 lifetime appearances for trainer Eddy Doucette and co-owners Blaine Thibeau, Gordon MacLeod and Grant Mann of Kensington, P.E.I. The winner's share of purse lifted her earnings to more than $110,000.
The Maritimer was just one of the key events on the Exhibition Park Raceway card presented by Horse Racing New Brunswick. The Rod Goguen Memorial Pace, the Milton Downey Memorial Stakes, and the Standardbred Canada Atlantic Aged Pacing Mares Series also highlighted the best card of racing in New Brunswick in recent memory with more than $70,000 in purse money up for grabs.
Time To Dance ($6.20) continued his dominance over the top older pacers in Atlantic Canada with a 1:56 mile in the $8,000 Rod Goguen Memorial Pace. Brodie MacPhee had the Marc Campbell trainee on top at every call, and the six-year-old son of A Rocknroll Dance - Mystical Gypsy cruised to score by nearly two over Beachin Lindy (Steve Charlton) and favoured Twin B Tuffenuff (MacPherson).
Brent Campbell of Charlottetown, P.E.I. and Matthew McDonald of Edwards, Ont. hold the papers on Time To Dance, now a 39-time winner with nearly $200,000 in earnings.
Trainer Walter Walker picked up a hat trick on the Saturday card, with the first of his three wins coming in the sole $7,000 Milton Downey Memorial Stake division for two-year-old male pacers. Fishermans Son ($3.70) and driver Donny Gillis were more than eight lengths the best as the gelded son of Arthur Blue Chip - Isthatyou Ardella tripped the timer in 1:59.1 and notched his fourth win in five career starts.
Walker co-owns the rookie pacer along with the Estate Of Angus Mac Innis of Mabou, N.S, and the colt has justified his $16,000 yearling sale price tag with more than $24,000 already stashed away.
The fastest of the Downey Memorial divisions went to Singing Ramona ($5.40), who went wire-to-wire in 1:59 to take the first $7,000 split for two-year-old pacing fillies.
David Dowling engineered the winning performance behind the homebred daughter of Sportswriter - Gilbird Hanover, who now sports a 4-1-1 summary from six starts and more than $12,100 in earnings for trainer Jamie Smith and his co-owner Hubert MacDonald of Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Announcer Grady Hachey had a three-across finish to call in the second Downey division, and he accurately named Itsuptoyou ($8.50) as the winner by a nose. Gilles Barrieau angled Itsuptoyou off the pylons around the final turn to attack pacesetter Speakingofshadow (Mike McGuigan), and Itsuptoyou got by in deep stretch but then had to hold off a late bid from longshot Run For The Money (Todd Trites) to hit the wire first in 2:03.
Kevin MacLean trains Itsuptoyou (Rollwithitharry - Safety Net) for owner Reginald MacPherson of Stratford, P.E.I. The filly has never missed the board in six starts, compiling a 2-2-2 record thus far while earning more than $18,000.
Vines To Heaven ($7.70) made four left turns and then headed back to the winner's circle in the $5,000 Standardbred Canada Atlantic Aged Pacing Mares leg. Todd Trites asked the pacing mare to play catch-me-if-you-can with her four rivals and none of those foes were up to the challenge. She hit the wire more than two lengths the best in 1:57.
George Rennison trains seven-year-old Vines To Heaven (Rock N Roll Heaven - Miss Old Vines) for Aiden Ferrish of Summerside, P.E.I, Ian MacDonald and Clarissa Maher of Lower Sackville, N.S., and Andrea Rennison of Truro, N.S. That's 13 wins on the season and 31 lifetime for the earner of more than $225,000.
Racing returns to New Brunswick on October 15.
For results from Saturday's stakes-packed card of harness racing in Saint John, click the following link: Saturday Results - Exhibition Park Raceway.