By Nicholas Oakes For Red Shores
CHARLOTTETOWN, PE – The fillies and mares division queen kept her crown firmly in place Thursday night as Badgirl Bridgette toyed with her Preferred rivals in the Race 11 feature at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
The three-year-old sensation was every bit the star the program promised, seizing the lead early from post 1 and never giving her rivals a sniff in the $4,650 Fillies & Mares Preferred 1. With the “Blue Knight” Jason Hughes at the controls, Badgirl Bridgette ($3.10) rolled through splits of 28.3, 58 and 1:27.1 before kicking home in 28 to win by 3¼ lengths in 1:55.1.
Rosetown Mary sat the pocket throughout from post 2 and stayed on for second for trainer-driver Corey MacPherson, while Brokeandoutofgas (Driven by Paul Langille) rallied up the passing lane to complete the triactor.
The daughter of Stonebridge Terror–Whatabadgirl is trained by 94-year-old conditioner Bill Lanigan, who continues his remarkable record-setting run with his superstar filly. The victory now gives Badgirl Bridgette 13 wins on the season for owner Lanigan of Montague, with another hefty Preferred cheque added to her growing seasonal bankroll of $102,425.
The $4,200 Open Trot in Race 10 went exactly according to the toteboard as heavy favourite Buckhead Ridge ($2.30) made every call a winning one.
Marc Campbell sent the Landon Campbell-trained trotter straight to the front from post 4, chopping out fractions of 29.2, 59.3 and 1:30 before sprinting clear to win by four lengths in 1:59.1.
Fight Song (Jason Hughes) tracked from mid-pack and rallied to finish second, while veteran Labero (Ken Murphy) rounded out the top three. The son of Nuncio–Tuonela is owned by Brady Doyle of Stratford.
Landon Campbell doubled on the night with Galway Girl ($2.50) in Race 7, brushing to the lead and drawing off to win in 1:59.2 for driver Marc Campbell.
The Joe & Steven MacRae Memorial Fall Series for fillies and mares highlighted Race 6 with a $3,000 purse on the line, and it was Red Dirt Diamond ($16.00) who stepped up with a mild upset.
Brett Clow had the five-year-old mare well-positioned early from post 2, sitting the pocket behind pace-setting favourite Ubettimagoodone (Gilles Barrieau) through splits of 29.3, 1:00.3 and 1:31.3. When they swung for home, Red Dirt Diamond surged past to win by a neck in 2:00.4 for owner-trainer Deanna Clow of New Haven. It was one of two wins on the card for trainer Clow as Sporty Spice ($4.70) controlled the tempo late and powered away to a 1:57.4 victory in Race 4 with Ken Murphy in the bike.
In other action, the early Pick 5 in races 1 through 5 carried a monstrous payout as the combination of 2-2-2-4-1 returned $4,679.80.
Live racing continues Saturday afternoon at 12:30 P.M., at Red Shores Charlottetown. For complete race results, upcoming entries, programs and the live video stream, visit the player portal at Redshores.ca.
