Prince Edward Island news — the 9-year-old veteran Mappos Lion pounced late to capture the $10,000 Mappos Lion P.E.I. Free For All feature on a 16-dash Saturday card at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino in Charlottetown, lifting his season record to a remarkable 13 wins in 16 starts.
By Maplestime P.E.I. Desk | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island | September 28, 2026
Sources: Harnesslink Canada (Nicholas Oakes, September 27), Standardbred Canada (September 25 preview) | Last updated: September 28, 2026
Key Takeaways
- Mappos Lion closed hard to win the Mappos Lion P.E.I. Free For All feature on Saturday, September 26, 2026, at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
- The 9-year-old now has 13 wins in 16 starts this season, driven by Ryan Desroche for trainer Taylor Doyle.
- Owners are Hailee Currie of Rocky Point, P.E.I., and Carol Campbell of Baddeck, N.S.; the gelding left from post 3 with Ammo the 5-2 morning-line favourite.
- Undefeated rookie Woodmere Rock It stayed perfect at 9-for-9, taking the $31,600 Joe O’Brien Memorial Gold division for 2-year-old pacing colts in 1:55.2.
- The win came on a busy 16-dash card at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino.
The Feature: Mappos Lion P.E.I. Free For All’s Late Pounce
Saturday night at the Charlottetown Driving Park, the old campaigner did what old campaigners do. Mappos Lion sat patient while the early speed sorted itself out, then closed hard in the stretch to take the Mappos Lion P.E.I. Free For All feature.
At 9 years old, most harness horses are either retired or winding down. Mappos Lion is doing the opposite: 13 wins from 16 starts this season is a strike rate most 4-year-olds would envy. Driver Ryan Desroche and trainer Taylor Doyle have the veteran razor sharp, and the ownership of Hailee Currie of Rocky Point, P.E.I., and Carol Campbell of Baddeck, N.S., keeps collecting winner’s circle photos.
Race details:
- Date: Saturday, September 26, 2026
- Location: Red Shores Racetrack and Casino, Charlottetown Driving Park, Charlottetown, P.E.I.
- Feature: $10,000 Mappos Lion P.E.I. Free For All Series, 16-dash card
- Winner: Mappos Lion, 9-year-old, leaving from post 3
- Driver/Trainer: Ryan Desroche / Taylor Doyle
- Morning-line favourite: Ammo at 5-2
Mappos Lion P.E.I. Free For All: A Perfect Rookie Too
The night’s other headline act was barely out of the nursery. Two-year-old pacing colt Woodmere Rock It won the $31,600 Joe O’Brien Memorial Gold division in 1:55.2, staying undefeated at a perfect 9-for-9 lifetime.
Gilles Barrieau was in the bike for trainer Jamie Smith and owner Thestable Woodmererock It of Guelph, Ont. Nine wins in nine starts at age two is the kind of record that makes people at the track lower their voices and start talking about the future. Rookies this dominant do not come around every season, and Woodmere Rock It’s perfect card is the story harness fans on the Island will be following all fall.
Related: MADD PEI Memorial Monument 2026 — 12 Impaired-Driving Victims Honoured in Charlottetown
Why This Card Mattered
Sixteen dashes on a Saturday night at Red Shores is the beating heart of the Island’s harness scene, and September 26 delivered the full package: a veteran champion doing veteran things and a baby-faced colt that looks like a star in the making.
Mappos Lion’s story is the one that resonates beyond the railbirds. A 9-year-old winning 13 of 16 in any sport is a statistical marvel, and in harness racing, where careers are measured in campaigns and the grind of the weekly card, it is a testament to Doyle’s training and Desroche’s handling. The Mappos Lion P.E.I. Free For All was his stage, and he owned it.
The Joe O’Brien Memorial Gold division, meanwhile, keeps producing the kind of young talent that sustains the sport in Atlantic Canada. A $31,600 purse for 2-year-olds is serious money for a Saturday card, and Woodmere Rock It cashed it without breaking a sweat, at least on paper. A 1:55.2 mile at two is not just winning, it is winning with authority.
Maplestime will provide updates from the P.E.I. harness racing scene as announcements are made.
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A 9-year-old with 13 wins in 16 starts: is Mappos Lion the toughest campaigner in Canadian harness racing right now, or is the perfect 9-for-9 rookie Woodmere Rock It the real story? Tell us in the comments. And share this with every Canadian who lives for Saturday night at the track.
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