There have been a number of track records set recently in the province of Alberta. With Century Mile kicking off its 2023 fall season on Saturday, Sept. 9, the track records clearly weren't just limited to Lacombe and The Track On 2. 

The fastest horse in Western Canada, Shark Week ($2.70) added another accolade to his resume with a 1:51.2 performance in the $14,000 Preferred Pace. Mike Hennessy guided the five-year-old son of Vertical Horizon - Shark Gone Bad to his ninth straight win, powering through panels of :27.3, :55.3 and 1:24 before sprinting home in 1:51.2 for the 1-3/4 length decision over pocket-sitter Ernesto Delacruz (J. F. Gagne). Icy Blue Scooter (Nathan Sobey) rounded out the triactor.

The time of the mile matches the 1:51.2 older pacing gelding mark of Sabine Pass taken in 2019.

Trainer Rod Hennessy and Lorne Duffield co-own Shark Week, now a 14-time winner from 18 starts in 2023. The win was his 34th lifetime, lifting his earnings just shy of the $300,000 mark.

Taking a cue from her male counterparts, Stash The Cookies ($5.40) front-stepped her way into the Century Mile track record books with a 1:52.2 performance in the $14,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred Pace. 

Phil Giesbrecht engineered the winning effort, guiding the seven-year-old daughter of Sunfire Blue Chip - Saucy B through fractions of :27.2, :55.2 and 1:23.3 before powering home in :28.4 to win by more than two lengths over Outlaw Sharktastic (Sobey) with Saphire Blue (Gagne) best of the rest in third.

John Chappell handles the training on Stash The Cookies, now a 26-time winner in her career with nearly $275,000 in earnings. She's owned by Derek Gilbert of Brandon, Man.

While Nathan Sobey didn't connect in either of the features, he was no stranger to track photographer Ryan Haynes on opening night sending out five winners from his barn. His trainees started the card by sweeping the first trhree races, with Over The Horizon (1:53.2; $6.90), Waitinonawoman (1:56.4; $11.90) and Iris Seelster (1:55.2; $9.10) prevailing in the first three dashes. Matts A Mystican (1:54.4; $16.10) captured the ninth race, and Sobey's fifth training win of the night came courtesy Never Grow Up (1:58.4; $8.50) in the penultimate dash.

With five wins on the night, Sobey's seasonal total now stands at 58 wins — matching his output for all of 2022. He's on pace to top his personal best total of 68 training wins, set in 2021.

Live harness racing will take place going forward on Fridays and Saturdays at Century Mile, with first post time set for 6:15 p.m. both days.

For the results from Saturday's card of harness racing at Century Mile, click the following link: Saturday Results - Century Mile.