A pair of finalists in Atlantic Canada's biggest race of the season will meet up again Saturday evening in the $3,000 Preferred Pace at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
The 12-dash Saturday card has a 6:00 P.M. opening post time, with the Preferred pacers clashing in the eleventh race of the program.
Simple Kinda Man rallied from last to finish fourth in last week’s $60,000 Guardian Gold Cup & Saucer final and will retain the services of driver Jason Hughes from post five for trainer Chris MacKay and owners D Racing Stable of New York and Donald MacRae of Vernon Bridge. The only time the Sportswriter pacer missed the board this year was a seventh-place finish in the $25,000 Governor’s Plate final earlier in the season at Red Shores Summerside.
Screen Test failed to garner a cheque in the Gold Cup and Saucer final and will have to contend with post seven on Saturday evening from the Ron Gass stable. Adam Merner will substitute in the driver’s seat with regular pilot Corey MacPherson competing in stakes action in Nova Scotia on Saturday.
Freddy Bear finished a bang-up third in the $20,000 James (Roach) MacGregor Gold Cup & Saucer consolation for trainer-driver Marc Campbell and will have post four for this week’s Preferred. Post six belongs to JJ Powerball with Gilles Barrieau subbing in for the absent Brodie MacPhee, who is also in Nova Scotia, after finishing fourth in last week’s consolation.
“Simple Kinda Man finished fourth in the Gold Cup & Saucer and closed in a snappy :27.3," state The Post Time Picks in Saturday’s program. “We think Jason may be aggressive off the gate and if he does set up shop on the front end he’ll be hard to track down.”
Other preferred entries include Pillage And Burn (Ken Murphy), Mick Dundee (Don MacNeill) and Nogreatmischief (Gordie Hennessey).
Facing a major test, Cowboy Logic will put his four-race winning streak to the test in the 10th race of the program. The Western Ideal three-year-old has hit the wire first in his last seven starts but was placed back for interference in his July 25 outing to chop his streak in half. Steven Shepherd will again drive Cowboy Logic from post six for his father Harold Shepherd, who co-owns and trains the pacer with Maurice McCabe, Angus Birt and Gerard Ellsworth.
Catch the action live on the worldwide broadcast at Redshores.ca and wager online at HPIBet.com. To view the entries, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Charlottetown Driving Park.
(with files from Red Shores)