By Jared Stretch

The 13th running of the Atlantic Breeders Crown Finals held Sunday, October 9, 2011, was a tremendous success. The race card featured record-setting racing and record-setting weather. Red Shores Charlottetown was abuzz with excitement all day long.
Just three days after the track cancelled its Thursday night card because of unsafe conditions due to a very sloppy track, the weather decided to cooperate for Atlantic Breeders Crown weekend. The track was very fast and the conditions just perfect, thanks to warm temperatures on Sunday. If not for the absence of a ferris wheel in the background, a picture of the spectator-filled facility could easily be mistaken for Old Home Week.
The Atlantic Breeders Crown invitational for two-year-old trotters went to My Daisy Duke. The filly, trained and driven by Ronnie Gass, fired off the gate with a blistering opening quarter of 28.4.
“That was just unreal. I wasn’t expecting that,” said Owner/breeder Jonathan MacDonald. “She missed some training that week because of the weather. It would have been interesting to see what she could have done. There’s a lot more to come from her.”
We hope he’s right as she’s been exciting to watch this season. She finished the mile in 2:05.
In the three-year-old trot final, two great rivals went head to head. All ages track record holder Waiting on a Woman was tardy at the gate and stakes star Maple Leaf Spirit and owner/driver Ralph Annear made him pay. A three-year-old filly trotting record of 2:00.3 was set. Her season has been nothing short of remarkable; in the unpredictable world of young trotters, she’s never been worse than second.
The Atlantic Breeders Crown Finals saw Pictonian Amanda steal the show in the two-year-old pacing fillies final, going wire to wire in 1:57. 4. A late charge was made by the heavily favoured Malabrigo and Sweetwater Teeah, but on that day it was all Amanda who even had some left in the tank to find an extra gear in the homestretch. Mike Stevenson was the driver of the fillies’ personal best for owners Daniel Ross and Bill Bell.
The two-year-old ABC pacing colt championship went to Astronomical Union and driver Marc Campbell. Marc scored a two-hole ride for the bulk of the mile behind Touch of Lightning who looked very strong, but in the homestretch Campbell moved the colt to the passing lane to stop the clock in 1:57 for owner Reginald MacPherson.
Honey Do Jigtime added the title of three-year-old ABC pacing filly champion to her already impressive resume. She took over at the half from then race leader Bemused. When she made her move at the half, it was clear she’d end up on top with Driver/trainer Clare MacDonald for owner Morah Kerr and Phonsie MacEachern. The mile, in 1:57.1, was her twelfth win of the season.
Pictonians Souwest set a new lifetime mark of 1:56.2 en route to capturing the Atlantic Breeders Crown three-year-old colts’ championship. He led at every call despite a challenge at the three-quarter mark by Putnams Art. The win capped off the racing card and a dream day for Owner Daniel Ross and Driver Mike Stevenson, who had both previously won a championship with Pictonian Amanda.
You couldn’t have asked for a better day at Red Shores in Charlottetown, from the excellent racing thanks to stellar track conditions, to the large engaging crowd on hand to see close to $125,000 in purses up for grabs. It is safe to say that the 2011 running of the Atlantic Breeders Crown Finals was a major success.