Charlottetown, PEI--Eighteen went wire-to-wire in a 1:51 track record equaling performance to win the 53rd edition of the $60,000 Sobey's Gold Cup & Saucer, which wrapped Old Home Week festivities on Saturday evening (Aug. 18) at Charlottetown Driving Park.
First-time Cup starter Tyler Moore sent Trial #3 winner Eighteen to the lead from the inside post position in the featured finale and carved out fractions of 26.4, 54.2 and 1:22.1 en route to victory lane.
Amazon Art, driven by Jonathan Drury, tipped first-over as the field moved in front of the grandstand for the first time with Trial #1 winner Stonebridge Terror and Anthony MacDonald firing three-wide and moving up to apply pressure to Eighteen down the backstretch before tucking into the two-hole around the final turn. Eighteen was one length clear entering the stretch and paced strong to the wire, holding off the hard-closing Mystician and James MacDonald, who rallied four-high from the backfield to finish second. Amazon Art was third.
The time of the mile matched the all-age track record set by the late Part Shark in the 2010 edition of the Gold Cup & Saucer. Moore, at the age of 20, became the youngest all-age track record holder in CDP history.
"I can barely keep my feet on the ground," commented the winning reinsman as he made his way to the winner's circle. "I had him on the gate a lot better tonight and he really got out of there great. Everything went his way. I knew it was a speed duel coming to the half with everyone going at him and he just fought them off the whole way. He couldn't wait to get this race done just as bad as me."
Eighteen is trained by Tyler's father Dr. Ian Moore, who drove the 1988 Gold Cup & Saucer winner The Papermaker. Ian Moore co-owns the winning 4-year-old son of Cam's Card Shark with R G McGroup Ltd. of Bathurst, N.B. and Serge Savard of Saint-Bruno, Que. The victory was the pacer's eighth lifetime and lifted his bankroll to $235,350.
Eighteen paid $6.20 to win as the 2-1 favorite.