Fresh off a front end score, Southwind Ion will look to take David Dowling all the way in the Linda Ford Memorial Pace in the opening half of a Saturday doubleheader at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park on the final day of 2020 Gold Cup & Saucer week.
The 10-dash Saturday afternoon card starts at 1:00 P.M. with the Linda Ford Memorial Pace in the race 10 finale.
Southwind Ion has post six in the $1,900 class with Dowling in the bike for trainer Jennifer Doyle, who co-owns the Sportswriter mare with Danny Birt of Earnscliffe. The mare was a 1:56.2 victor on the lead Tuesday evening for her 22nd lifetime win.
Dueling Banjos brings a summary of six straight top-three finishes into the race with post seven for driver Steven Shepherd and trainer Jay Noye while Dreas Good Powow was a winner her last start from the Joe MacDonald stable of Cornwall. The 40-time winner will have Corey MacPherson sitting behind her Saturday afternoon from the rail.
The Post Time Picks in the Saturday afternoon program will place Southwind Ion as the top choice.
“Southwind Ion blasted off the wings and went right down the road for Dowling last time out. She gets the same class, same driver and maybe the same result.”
Completing the field are Medici Hanover (Jason Hughes), Dorabella (Adam Merner), Good Luck Kathy (Brodie MacPhee), Paythelinebluechip (Marc Campbell) and The Time To Win (Gilles Barrieau).
The fifth race on the afternoon card is the Tom & Margaret Claybourne Memorial Trot for a $2,350 purse. Setting Day is the morning line favourite from post four for driver Kenny Arsenault, trainer Mike McGuigan and owner Jamie Whalen of Avondale.
Rest Assured is the favourite in the Fred & Rena Hughes Memorial, carded as the afternoon's fourth race, with Barrieau at the lines for trainer Blaine McKenna and owners Marsha Knox and Kyla and Wade MacDonald of Stanhope.
A pair of $8,400 Joe O’Brien Grassroots divisions for three-year-old pacing colts line up in Races 6 and 8.
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A Gold Cup And Saucer For The Ages
All the glory is up for grabs Saturday evening in the 61st running of The Guardian Gold Cup & Saucer at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
First post for the evening card is 7:00 P.M.
The $60,000 Gold Cup & Saucer final goes under the spotlight in the Race 14 finale. Casimir Richie P is pegged as the one to beat from the stable of Dr. Ian Moore. A native of Summerside, Moore co-owns the pacer with Michael Goldberg of Toronto and places him in the capable hands of driver Dale Spence from post six. The Astronomical pacer was a winner in 1:51.2 in Trial 2 on Monday night while Trial 1 winner Time To Dance has post two for trainer-driver Marc Campbell. Brent Campbell of Charlottetown co-owns the 12-time winning Time To Dance with Matthew McDonald of Edwards, Ont. Rose Run Quest, the only horse in the field to have previously raced in the Gold Cup and Saucer final, has post eight with Gilles Barrieau in the seat from the Campbell stable.
Woodmere Ideal Art (David Dowling) will leave from post five for trainer Sifroi Melanson. The Articulator gelding is the first Island-bred horse to race in the Gold Cup and Saucer final since Country Estate in 2008.
The Post Time Picks are in agreement with classifier Gerard Smith in Casimir Richie P getting the top spot on the ticket.
"That was an awesome performance in trial two where he got front and then fired home in :27.1 to win in 1:51.2. He may not get that trip tonight but his driver says he can do it any way so we’ll see what Dale decides to do but we expect him to hit the wire first."
Other entries in the ultra-competitive field of eight are Lisburn (Kenny Arsenault), Screen Test (Corey MacPherson), Father Ofthe Year (Mike Downey) and Simple Kinda Man (Jason Hughes).
Woodmere Chella is the favourite off the rail in the $8,000 Birthplace Of Confederation Final, sponsored by the City of Charlottetown in memory of Dr. Bob Webster, in Race 13. Spence drives the pacing mare for trainer Marvyn Webster of Kensington.
A pair of $12,500 Joe O’Brien Gold divisions line up in Races 9 and 12. The card also features the Miriam Simmons Memorial, The Kiwanis George Kays Memorial, The Papermaker Pace, the David MacPhail Memorial, the Colonel Dan Trot, the Mayor’s Pace, the Minister Of Finance Pace, and the Premier’s Pace.
Go to Redshores.ca for race programs and more and wager online at HPIBet.com.
To view the entries for Saturday's cards of harness racing at Red Shores, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Charlottetown Driving Park.
(Red Shores)