By Nicholas Oakes For Red Shores
SUMMERSIDE, PE – Twin B Tuffenuff began the defence of his Governor’s Plate crown on a winning note Sunday afternoon at Red Shores at the Summerside Raceway as Miki Shan A and a red hot Marc Campbell won the other elimination.
The defending champ wired the field in the first of two $9,000 Governor’s Plate eliminations, presented by Summerside Chrysler Dodge, in race 8 with a 1:53.1 front-end victory for trainer Ron Matheson and owner Patrick Morris of Charlottetown. Gilles Barrieau engineered the win with Twin B Tuffenuff ($4.00) from post 3 in the full field of eight, steering the son of Rock N Roll Heaven through panels of 27.2, 56 and 1:24.2 before holding off a surging Middleton Terror (Driven by David Dowling) by three-quarters of a length. Longshot Tony Too Tall (Myles Heffernan Sr.) was a ground-saving third while Roll Em (Marc Campbell) also earned a berth in the July 19 $50,000 final.
The second $9,000 Governor’s Plate elimination landed squarely in the lap of Campbell as Miki Shan N ($8.80) obliterated the clock in race 12 with a 1:51.4 mile. The Always B Miki import sat fifth early but took over the lead past the three-quarters and cruised home in 28.3 to win by four-lengths for trainer Chris MacKay and partners Kap Singh Racing, Stephen Klunowski, Earl Hill Jr., and Donald MacRae. Bounty Hunter (Ken Arsenault) rallied to finish a shocking second at odds of 226-1 with High Voltage Deo (Corey MacPherson) rounding out the triactor and Blood Money (Barrieau) getting the final spot in fourth. Race favourite Save America (Ken Murphy) made a break on the lead at three-quarters and did not finish the race.
The $7,000 Ruby Chappell Memorial Open Mares eliminations also took centre stage, with both splits producing tight finishes.
Race 6 saw Woodmere Kennedie ($7.20) claim the Chappell elimination with a 1:54.4 score in line to Marc Campbell for trainer Landon Campbell, getting up in the final strides over pacesetter Sugar Bowl (Barrieau), while Ms Moyse (Adam Merner) surged late for third. Acefortyfourdome (Jason Hughes) also advances to the final. The winning daughter of Rollwithitharry is owned by Mike Pollard of Stratford.
In the other Chappell elimination in race 10, Rosetown Mary ($2.70) was perfectly placed by trainer-driver MacPherson to win in 1:54. The Pang Shui mare won by one-and-a-quarter length over a blanket finish of Tobins Brownie (Merner), Elm Grove Mistress (Hughes) and Plain Jane (Barrieau) to take her fourth win of the season. Owned in partnership with Taylor MacPherson and the Rosetown Stable, the five-year-old mare now boasts a record of 4-2-1 from seven starts this season.
Marc Campbell dominated the program as his win parade started in race 1 as Jetster ($9.60) rolled gate-to-wire in 1:56.1 for Stanley Harper, kicking off the 13-year-old gelding’s 50th career win. Campbell’s second win came in race 2 with Woodmere Sinatra ($3.90) for trainer Chris Davies and continued in race 4 when Acrobat Hanover ($4.70) scored in 1:57 for trainer Taylor Doyle. Campbell’s other tally came in race 9 as Sharky ($3.50) cruised to a 1:54.4 score for Jack McGuirk.
Governor’s Plate Week racing continues Tuesday evening at 6 P.M., featuring the P.E.I. Colt Stakes for two and three-year-old trotters. The program will also feature the official post position draw for the 57th edition of the Governor’s Plate.
For complete results, video replays, and more head to Redshores.ca.
