By Nicholas Oakes For Red Shores
CHARLOTTETOWN, PE – With a driving triple to his credit, Redmond Doucet won the Atlantic Regional Driving Championship Saturday evening at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
The Inverness, N.S., driver will move on to the National Driving Championship set for July 5 at Hippodrome 3R in Trois-Rivieres, Que., along with second place finisher David Dowling, a resident of Springvale, P.E.I. The pair will face Ontario representatives Tyler Borth and James MacDonald, Western Canada representatives Phil Giesbrecht and Mike Hennessy and defending champion Doug McNair along with two representatives from the yet to held Quebec/Eastern Ontario Regional Driving Championship. The winner of the National Driving Championship will represent Canada at the World Driving Championship in 2025 in New Zealand.
Doucet’s victories in the competition came with Outrageous Song (1:58) for trainer Ron Matheson, Moonwriter (1:56) for trainer Keith Ford and Three Trick Gainer (1:57.4) from the Saul Lanigan barn.
Dowling had a pair of wins in the competition as Woodmere Heather M (1:56.1) won race 7 for trainer Jennifer Doyle and Check Your Source (1:58.2) was a winner for conditioner Gordie Hennessey.
The other three Atlantic Regional Driving Championship race were captured by Tradition (Driven by Marc Campbell) in 1:56.1 for the Hennessey training double, No Fool Mackinley (Corey MacPherson) in 1:57 from the Garth Cole barn, as well as One Rock circling the field to win in 1:57.1 for driver Todd Trites and trainer Luke Burke.
Doucet won the competition with 62 points ahead of second place Dowling with 52 points followed by Trites (51 points), Campbell (49 points), MacPherson (38 points), Paul Langille (30 points), Ken Murphy (21 points) and Ardon Mofford (17 points).
Dowling also won with his own Middleton Terror in overnight action in race 3 for the driving triple in a career best 1:53.2 mile from the son of Stonebridge Terror.
The $4,000 Preferred Pace was claimed by Twin B Tuffenuff (Gilles Barrieau) in a 1:53 flat front-end score for trainer Matheson and owner Pat Morris. Roll Em (Campbell) was second ahead of All Bets On Tex (Adam Merner).
Barrieau and Matheson teamed up earlier in the program to win race 1 with Ashes To Ashes (1:56.1).
Live racing continues Sunday afternoon at 1 P.M. at Red Shores Summerside featuring the P.E.I. Colt Stakes for three-year-old pacers.
For more information including race replays and a complete racing schedule go to Redshores.ca.
