Can Machinthesand drop and pop at Red Shores

CHARLOTTETOWN, PE – Putting together a top three finish against the top pacers in Eastern Canada is no small feat and now Machinthesand draws the rail while dropping in class in the Thursday evening feature at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.

The 12-dash Thursday evening program gets underway at 6:30 P.M., with the featured pace lining up as race 11 of the card. Machinthesand has drawn post 1 in the $2,350 feature event with Ken Murphy at the lines for trainer Barry Folland and owner Noonan Holdings Ltd., of Summerside, P.E.I.

The nine-year-old son of Mach Three has put together a solid season with nine top three finishes from 16 outings, including finishing third to Czar Seelster and Rose Run Quest in his latest start.

Those top pacers are absent this week but his six rivals are no slouches. Stars Above rides a two-race win streak into the Thursday feature with Steven Shepherd at the lines from post 4 while Three Truths had his win streak snapped at three last week and gets post 5 with Kenny Arsenault in the seat.

Cartoon Daddy has faced the top pacers on the East Coast all season and is shouldered with post 7 for driver David Dowling but shows a trip in 1:54.2 in his latest start.

Race analyst Les MacIsaac puts his faith in rail control and calls Machinthesand the likely winner.

"Machinthesand has cracked the top three in five of his last six which says a lot about his current form," MacIsaac said. "With this one being so wide-open, rail control could be the deciding factor."

Other entries include Winter Blast (Driven by Jason Hughes), Red Magician (Adam Merner), and Rockin Indy (Corey MacPherson).

Race 6 is the $1,950 Open trot and Freddie returns to the Island scene after facing the pacers at Truro Raceway in Nova Scotia in his latest with a third place finish. Marc Campbell trains and drives the trotter for owner Three Wisemen Stable of Kingston. Other top entries include the stablemates Majian Chester (Murphy) and Majian Tango (Jim Ripley).

For more information go to www.Redshores.ca.

By Nicholas Oake, for Red Shores