Goodbye Ceia Later fought off fierce competition in the stretch to defeat Alberta's reigning Horse of the Year and capture the $11,000 featured pace at Century Downs on Wednesday, April 16.

Off the gate, Goodbye Ceia Later, driven by Phil Giesbrecht, tussled early with Sunshineatthebeach (Mike Hennessy) for the lead before surrendering and settling into the pocket. Sunshineatthebeach controlled the tempo, cutting an opening quarter in :28.1 and reaching the half in :57.4, where Outlawguns N Roses (Logan Gillis) launched a first-over bid. Sunshineatthebeach remained in control through three-quarters in 1:27, setting the stage for a thrilling stretch drive. In deep stretch, Goodbye Ceia Later tipped out from the pocket and surged on the outside, edging out her rivals to win by a nose in 1:56.1. Outlawguns N Roses settled for second, with Sunshineatthebeach rounding out the top three. The winning ticket returned $10.80.

Trained by Chris Lancaster, who co-owns the mare with Velda Olding of Abbotsford, B.C., Goodbye Ceia Later now has two wins this season from nine starts and $22,460 in 2025 earnings. The six-year-old boasts 20 career victories from 100 starts and has banked $168,694 in lifetime earnings. The daughter of Vertical Horizon-Ba Bye Ceia Later notched her second consecutive victory, following a Preferred-level score last week. 

Wednesday’s race also marked the four-year-old pari-mutuel debut for local track record holder Outlawguns N Roses. The daughter of Captive Audience-Gunslingin Gal was named Alberta's Horse of the Year for 2024 following a standout sophomore season in which she won 11 of 13 starts, took a mark of 1:51.3 and earned $285,270 in purses for trainer/owner Rod Starkewski and co-owner Clauzette Byckal.

To view Wednesday's harness racing results, click the following link: Wednesday Results - Century Downs.

(Standardbred Canada)