The horses are back; Countdown to Cup

Charlottetown, PE – The official countdown to the 2016 Gold Cup & Saucer gets underway Saturday at Red Shores Racetrack & Casino. The legendary CDP oval opens the curtain with 10 races and a 6pm post time.

The evening's top class will feature the preferred pacers in race 5 with the starter calling the horses to the gate at 7:08pm. Race analysts Gerard Smith and Les MacIsaac are split in their top selections with Smith giving the classifier's choice to newcomer Euchred (5-2 odds) who makes his Island debut from post 3 for driver Jason Hughes, trainer Walter Walker and owner Kayla Habicht Walker, Inverness, NS.

The four-year-old son of Shadow Play won his last start by three lengths over Flamboro Downs on March 24th.

MacIsaac, a race handicapper for over 20 years in Charlottetown, has listed Idealic Life as the one to beat. "The only thing hotter than this horse at the end of the last meet was his driver Corey MacPherson. If they're as dangerous a combination as they were then, he'll be hard to deny."

Trevor Hicken trains the pacer for Perry, Luke and Robin Burke and Kent Livingston and goes into the event with a seven race winning streak. Hicken and Livingston will also send out Bazillion from post 5 with Brian MacPhee listed to drive. This horse loves to bust the gate so he should be the one laying down the early fractions. The other newcomer in the match-up is Bolero Trisco off the rail.

Trainer Neil Bambrick qualified the Ontario invader for owner Jonah Moase but hands the lines to veteran Gary Chappell. Eagle Jolt will line up from post 2 for trainer-driver Marc Campbell and the ownership duo of Wilbur and Marie MacDonald, Orwell Cove, PE.

Campbell and Hughes, who shared top driver honors for second year in a row, were named as part of the line-up in the Regional Driving Championship coming to the city on June 25th. The information was released Thursday with Walter Cheverie and Corey MacPherson also representing the Island team.

In other action, Tempo Seelster (Vince Poulton) gets the top call in the 8th annual PEI Poker Challenge pace in the 10th race finale.

Race fans will be treated to a number of on-track promos with the first 150 customers who buy a race program after 5pm receiving a Red Shores gift, radio personalities Gerard Murphy of Ocean 100 and Laura Woodworth with Hot 105.5 will make an appearance on the broadcast and details will be released on the new $100,000 Dash for Cash coming in June.

For race programs, top picks and live broadcast go to www.redshores.ca

by Lee Drake, for Red Shores