A stakes-filled weekend of Island racing kicks off Saturday evening at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
The 14-dash card kicks off with Race 1 at 6:00 p.m. on the card featuring the Joe O’Brien Memorial stakes for two-year-old pacing colts and the Lady Slipper stake for two-year-old pacing fillies.
A pair of track record holders hook up in Race 9 for a $10,000 purse in an O’Brien Gold division. Sock It Away holds the two-year-old pacing colt track records at Red Shores Charlottetown and Summerside, and gets Post 4 to work with for driver Marc Campbell and trainer Kevin MacLean. Oceanview Magnum leaves from Post 6 fresh off a Northside Downs track record last week where he defeated Sock It Away. Todd Trites drives Oceanview Magnum for trainer Earl Watts. The race also sees the return of Howmac Dancer to the East coast after racing on the Ontario Sires Stakes circuit, getting Post 7 this week for driver Corey MacPherson.
The other $10,000 O’Brien Gold division lines up in Race 12 with Inverness Raceway track record holder Half Cut the morning line choice from Post 3 for the team of driver Mark Bradley and trainer Tom Weatherbie. Big Talking Man returns to East coast racing in that division from Post 5 for driver Ken Murphy and trainer Robert Phillips after taking a lifetime best of 1:52 in his latest outing at Mohawk Racetrack in Ontario.
A pair of O’Brien grassroots divisions line up in Races 2 and 4 for $6,200 purses.
Lady Slipper Gold action for the two-year-old pacing fillies has Royaltywestho as the morning line choice in Race 8 for an $11,000 pot. The daughter of Westwardho Hanover has five wins from six outings for driver Walter Cheverie and trainer Joseph Baxter of Nova Scotia. Saulsbrook Coral (Trites) and Silverhill Misty (Jason Hughes) are the other top entries in the field of six.
Elm Grove Misty is fresh off the biggest race of her career with rail control in this week’s $11,000 Lady Slipper division in Race 11. Dave (Crocker) Kelly trains and drives the daughter of Stonebridge Terror and was a 1:59 winner last time out in a $17,800 division of the Atlantic Sires Stakes at Northside Downs in Nova Scotia.
Woodmere Chella (Gilles Barrieau) and Chocolate Terror (Paul Langille) are among the major threats in this week’s seven-horse field.
The $7,100 Lady Slipper Grassroots divisions hit the track in Races 1 and 5.
The Preferred Pace carries a $2,550 purse in Race 13 with a top notch field including D Gs Camme (Barrieau), Carracci Hanover (Hughes) and Adkins Hanover (MacPherson).
For entries, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Charlottetown Driving Park.
(with files from Red Shores)