The first trial for the 2020 Guardian Gold Cup & Saucer goes to the gate Saturday evening (August 15) with a deep group of East Coast talent as part of a doubleheader at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
The 10-dash Saturday night card kicks off at 7:00 P.M. (AST)
Time To Dance is the morning line favourite in the $12,500 elimination with the top four in the race advancing to next Saturday’s $60,000 final. Marc Campbell will drive Time To Dance from post two for owners Brent Campbell of Charlottetown and Matt McDonald of Edwards, Ont. The four-year-old son of A Rocknroll Dance was a runner-up to stablemate Rose Run Quest in his latest, pacing the Charlottetown Driving Park in 1:52.2.
Simple Kinda Man, who knocked off the Saturday night preferred two starts ago, has post three for driver Jason Hughes while Campbell trainee Freddy Bear is relegated to post eight with Adam Merner aboard. Freddy Bear circled the field in his most recent start, pacing his own back half in :55.1.
The Post Time Picks in Saturday evening’s program places the target on Simple Kinda Man as the one to knock off.
“Simple Kinda Man looks like he can get front in here and boss it the entire way. He’s been excellent his last three starts all against the best in the Maritimes and with the way he can close we think he gets to the wire first.”
Other Trial 1 entrants are Father Ofthe Year (Mike Downey), Best To Hurst (David Dowling), Screen Test (Corey MacPherson), Avatar J (Gilles Barrieau) and Euchred (Redmond Doucet).
The eighth race of the evening is the first elimination of the Birthplace Of Confederation Series for aged pacing mares, in memory of Dr. Bob Webster, presented by the City of Charlottetown. Arc Light is the favourite off the rail in the $3,000 race for trainer-driver Campbell and owner Grayland Farm of Gulf Shores, N.S. Other top entries are Misty Memory N (Hughes) and Falls Creek (Merner).
Phenomenal Fillies Clash Saturday Afternoon At Red Shores
The finest sophomore pacing fillies on the Eastern Seaboard of Canada will converge on Red Shores at the Charlottetown Driving Park on Saturday afternoon. The 10-dash afternoon program has a 1:00 P.M. start time featuring A-divisions of the Atlantic Sires Stakes for three-year-old pacing fillies in Races 6, 8 and 10.
Maritime champions Woodmere Skyroller (Brodie MacPhee) and Na Naa Said So (Redmond Doucet) face off in the sixth race, which looks to be the slugfest of the afternoon. Woodmere Skyroller has rail control in the $9,500 class for owner Reg MacPherson of Stratford and trainer Kevin MacLean as the filly boasts two wins and three seconds from five seasonal starts. Na Naa Said So tasted victory in her latest outing with a 1:56 score over Truro Raceway in her home province of Nova Scotia. Red Dirt Star has post five in the class with Gilles Barrieau at the controls after the filly finished third against the boys in the $40,000 Barrieau-McIsaac stake last week at Exhibition Park Raceway in Saint John, N.B.
The second $9,500 division in the eighth will see Watch Me Dance looking for her first stakes victory of 2020 after knocking on the door so far this season. Jason Hughes will sit behind the Stephen Quinn co-owned and trained daughter of Ameripan Gigolo for co-owners John Quinn of Charlottetown and Ozzie MacKay of New Brunswick. Bellafornow (Clare MacDonald) circled the field in her latest start at Truro to win in 1:56.3 and may have to do it again to hit the wire first from post seven.
Streakazana is the morning line choice in the final split in the afternoon finale from post two for trainer-driver Marc Campbell and her fractional ownership group. Other top entries in that class include Dustylane Zambucca (Corey MacPherson) and Saulsbrook Ocean (Dale Spence).
The card also has a pair of $2,500 B-divisions for fillies in Races 2 and 4.
Catch all the action on the worldwide broadcast at Redshores.ca and wager online at HPIBet.com. To view the entries for Saturday's cards, click one of the following links:
» Saturday Entries - Charlottetown Driving Park (afternoon)
» Saturday Entries - Charlottetown Driving Park (evening)
(Red Shores)