Avatar J found the winner’s circle last week in the Saturday evening top class at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park, but he may have a larger task ahead of him this time.
The 10-dash Saturday card gets underway at 6:00 p.m. Avatar J is the morning line choice in the $3,200 Preferred pace, carded as the ninth race. Jason Hughes will drive Avatar J from Post 5 for trainer Danny MacDonald and owners Jody Sanderson of Cornwall, PEI and Dean Larkin of Edwards, Ont. The American Ideal six-year-old scored a 1:54.2 decision in his seasonal debut on red soil while fending off the advances of Screen Test. With Screen Test drawing just inside of his main competition in Post 4 for driver Corey MacPherson and trainer Ron Gass, he may prove an even bigger threat this week.
Simple Kinda Man makes his Island debut with rail control for driver Marc Campbell, trainer Chris MacKay and owners D Racing Stable of New York and Donald MacRae of Vernon Bridge. The five-year-old son of Sportswriter has been racing between Pennsylvania and New York, showing miles in 1:53-1:54 over a half-mile track.
Lisburn returns to the East Coast and will leave from Post 2 for trainer-driver Kenny Arsenault. A top performer in this class during the last half of 2019, Lisburn had been racing at Woodbine Mohawk Park in Ontario in the Tony O’Sullivan stable.
Bugsy Maguire makes a jump up in class to land in Post 3 for Saturday’s contest but the Brodie MacPhee-driven pacer has shown he is more than up the task. Trained by Wade Sorrie, Bugsy Maguire was a winner in last year’s Cecil Ladner Memorial final, and a finalist in the Governor’s Plate.
Race analyst Les MacIsaac will elect for Screen Test to return to his winning ways in his Saturday evening predictions. “Screen Test hit another gear in his first start and circled the field and had it not being for having to go three wide last week, he might have won again,” MacIsaac said. “His excellent current form will make him hard to deny.”
Catch the worldwide broadcast at Redshores.ca and wager online at HPIBet.com or at the drive-in wagering venue at Red Shores Charlottetown from 12:00 - 4:00 p.m. every race day. To view the entries for Saturday's card, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Charlottetown Driving Park.
(Red Shores)