The top filly in Eastern Canada will have a fresh challenger from the centre of the nation on a stakes Saturday at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
The 13-dash presentation has a 6:00 P.M. first race post time featuring the Lady Slipper stakes for two-year-old pacing fillies and the Joe O’Brien Memorial stakes for two-year-old pacing colts.
The card features a pair of $13,000 Lady Slipper Gold divisions for rookie fillies in races 10 and 12. Watch Me Dance headlines the final division in race 12 as the top money-earning rookie filly. She will have driver Jason Hughes pinch-hitting in place of regular pilot Mark Bradley, who has elected to drive post six starter Bettorthanbobbi. Hughes and Watch Me Dance leave from post three in the field, and she comes into the race fresh off a 1:58 win in her last start for trainer and co-owner Stephen Quinn and co-owners John Quinn of Charlottetown and Ozzie MacKay of Moncton, N.B. A winner of $23,218 so far this season, Watch Me Dance has six top-two finishes from seven seasonal outings in her debut campaign.
Mittaroniandcheese has rail control in the field of seven with Adam Merner driving the daughter of Betterthancheddar for owner Shaun MacIsaac of Charlottetown and trainer Jamie Smith. Fresh off a maiden-breaking score, Mittaroniandcheese was racing the tough Ontario Sires Stakes circuit and draws into her first stakes engagement in Atlantic Canada.
The other Lady Slipper Gold division in race 10 will have Streakazana mounting a top challenge from post six for trainer-driver Marc Campbell and fractional ownership group MCR Streakazana Group of Charlottetown.
In O’Brien Gold action for two-year-old pacing colts, Windemere Ryan and Woodmere Rollnpop will square off in an $11,000 division in the sixth race. Windemere Ryan will guard the rail for driver Adam Merner, trainer Melissa Rennie and owner High Five Racing Stable of Stanhope, while divisional leader Woodmere Rollnpop has post five for trainer-driver Clare MacDonald.
Merner and Rennie are favoured in the other $11,000 split as Mr Kelly has post one as the morning line favourite in the eighth race. The son of Rollwithitharry will take his never-worse-than-third record into the event for owners Marsha Knox and Kyla and Wade MacDonald of Stanhope.
The card also has a number of Lady Slipper and O’Brien grassroots divisions as well as the Dave Holland 50 Years In Radio pace in the fourth race. Holland will join Lee Drake and Peter MacPhee on the Red Shores broadcast including a special edition of the Inside Track at 5:35 p.m.
For race programs and more go to redshores.ca. To view entries for Saturday's card, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Charlottetown Driving Park.
(with files from Red Shores)