By Nicholas Oakes For Red Shores
CHARLOTTETOWN, PE – The $100,000 Gold Cup and Saucer final, presented by Atlantic Lottery, will cap off Old Home Week 2024 Saturday evening at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park and driver Gilles Barrieau is expecting to witness one of the greatest first turn battles of his career.
The $100,000 race is carded as race 14 of the 6 P.M. evening program, preceded by a 12-dash afternoon presentation starting at 12 P.M.
Barrieau will drive post 6 starter Twin B Tuffenuff from the Ron Matheson barn after a third-place finish in Trial 3 earned him a spot in the final.
“There is going to be all kinds of action,” Barrieau said about the historic final. “There are all kinds of leavers in this race and I mean real leavers that are going to make it interesting. That first turn is going to be what I think is the most interesting race that I’ve probably going to witness for a lot of years.”
Barrieau says Trial 1 winner Save America (To be driven by Anthony MacDonald) will have no choice but to leave hard from post 8. Save America is part of three entries from the Jamie Smith stable including post 2 starter Heaven On High N (Brett MacDonald) and post 7 entry Rocks Shining Star (Jason Hughes).
“Save America has to make things happen from the eight hole,” Barrieau said. “Then there is Fortify (post 3, Daniel Dube) and Larry Karr (Post 1, Austin Sorrie), they all have to go ahead. Then Brett MacDonald is in a bad spot from post 2 with Heaven On High N. He’s got to go, he has to go forward with American History (Post 9, Dale Spence) trailing. But you know the nine hole is a tough place to get out of, especially when they put the throttle down at the start. I’m not sure American History will be sitting up as close as people think he will.”
But what needs to happen for Twin B Tuffenuff to give Barrieau his fifth Gold Cup and Saucer trophy?
“A lot of action up front,” Barrieau said. “Perfect thing would be a lot of them get out and go, and I can just sneak up the rail and things open up late. Not sure that’s going to happen though.”
Driver Marc Campbell has won the prestigious East Coast Classic three times before and will pick up the drive on the Jeff Gillis trained Binge On Yankee from post 5. Jody Jamieson drove the horse to a second-place finish in Trial 1 with Campbell getting a front row view of his performance driving in that race.
“I left on the inside of him in the trial and he left hard,” Campbell said. “He was out for a while, and he cleared then released Save America. Biggest thing I like about Binge On Yankee is American History is a very nice horse and he came on the outside of him and was half by him in the Trial. Then Binge On Yankee dug back in. That’s tough and to win these kinds of races you have to be tough.”
Campbell and Barrieau both point out a huge part of the race is pageantry of the post parade with the Island Hymn and the spotlight introduction by Track Announcer Vance Cameron and that it can play a large factor in handicapping the race.
“It’s a long post parade and how your horse manages it makes a huge difference,” Campbell said. “Like two years ago Wally Hennessey had a very nice horse in Patrikthepiranha A but Wally had to fight with him and he was all done before he ever got the spot light on him. My horse looks relaxed so that should play in my favour.”
For Saturday’s $100,000 Old Home Week finale, Campbell won’t be shocked to see repeat by the other Gillis trainee, Covered Bridge (Post 4, Jordan Stratton), who won the race in 2023.
“I think if Covered Bridge came into this a little more on top of this game he’d probably be the horse to beat,” Campbell said. “He’s got post 4, which is a great spot to leave in this kind of race. My horse has post 5 which is a great spot too. We got a shot. But who is supposed to win it? Fortify looks like a half mile track horse and drew great. He’s got over $700,000 made. He’s a good horse and he’s got Daniel Dube, who’s a great driver. I like Fortify but I think it’s very competitive field, and I think it’s wide open. Someone asked me the other day who I thought was going to win and I half joking said ‘Me’ but that’s how I’m going into this. I honestly think whoever is supposed to win it will end up getting beat. There’s going to be a lot of fractions, and there’s going to be a lot of movement so I just hope to be moving forward in the right place.”
Warren Ellis and Family with Summerside Chrysler Dodge announced the $10,000 Smash The Track Record promotion with $5000 going to the winning horse who breaks the record of 1:50.1 in the Gold Cup final.
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