Freshman pacers contested their final stakes engagements of the Alberta season with the Brad Gunn Memorial for fillies and Rocky Mountain Boys for colts and geldings on Saturday, Nov. 7 at Century Mile.

Somewhat Tipsy provided the performance of the night with a 1:54.3 blowout in the second $25,000 Rocky Mountain Boys division. After taking a brief seat second to a :28.4 quarter, Phil Giesbrecht moved the Alberta Sires Stakes Super Final winner to the top, and Somewhat Tipsy strolled to the half in :57.3 before Y V Michters (Drew Campbell) advanced to engage him nearing three-quarters in 1:26. Somewhat Tipsy handily accelerated off the turn to extinguish that challenge, then powered home to win by 5-3/4 lengths, his third straight margin of more than five lengths. Y V Michters finished second, followed by Sam Credit (Mike Hennessy).

Somewhat Tipsy has turned a corner since entering the barn of Giesbrecht; previously winless in four, he finished second in his debut for the trainer, then won four straight stakes starts. The son of Vertical Horizon-Mrs Suhwiggins, owned by J J J Stables of North Vancouver, B.C. and 4WRacing of Surrey, B.C., is four-for-nine with $81,459 in earnings. He returned $2.30.

Alberto brought a winning late lunge after weaving through traffic to shed his maiden status in the other Rocky Mountain Boys division. Mike Hennessy settled him into the three-hole through :29.2 and :59.1 first-half fractions and held the pylons into the final turn as the outer tier advanced. Alberto floated off the rail at three-quarters in 1:29.2 to angle for room, got a split in mid-stretch, and picked off duelling leaders Scouts Command (James Jungquist) and Dungannigans (Nathan Sobey) by a quarter-length for the 1:58.3 score. Scouts Command got up for place.

Alberto’s first win brought his record to one-for-10 and his bankroll to $19,100. Chris Lancaster trains the son of Mcwicked-Real Pretty for breeders Alice and Fred Gilbert of Brandon, Man. The win price was $17.90.

Hennessy also won the faster $25,000 Brad Gunn split with Amazon Huntress, who headed an exactor sweep for the reinsman’s father, trainer Rod Hennessy. Amazon Huntress tracked leader Dixieland Delight (James Jungquist) behind panels of :29.2 and :58.4 before peeling out turning for three-quarters in 1:29, then hurtled down the stretch to a 5-1/4-length romp in 1:57. Sloppy Monster (Phil Giesbrecht) rolled by Dixieland Delight in the lane for second with the latter battling on for show.

The stakes win for Amazon Huntress followed a 1:55.3 debut win on Oct. 16, upping her earnings to $15,000 for owners Lorne Duffield of Edmonton, Alta. and Jean Crochetiere of Beaumont, Alta. The daughter of Huntsville-Thats How We Roll paid $2.50 at the windows.

Midnight Diva Rose sustained pressure on the front end and dug in to capture the other Brad Gunn contest. She muscled to the front into the first turn, completing the quarter in :29.1 for trainer-driver Nathan Sobey. The filly battled with the first-over Shake Your Booty (James Jungquist) from the 1:00.2 half past the 1:29.4 three-quarters, repelling that attack into the stretch before feeling renewed pressure from Vertical Smile (Brandon Campbell) at the inside and Blue Star Shania (Mike Hennessy) to the outside. Midnight Diva Rose once again rose above the attack and reached home ahead of closers Somebody Save Me (Jamie Gray) and Outlaw Risk N Hope (Logan Gillis) in 1:59.2. Somebody Save Me was second by a half-length, followed by Outlaw Risk N Hope.

Midnight Diva Rose broke her maiden in her eighth start while growing her bankroll to $26,194. The daughter of Vertical Horizon-Divas Dragonfly races for owners Sobey Racing Inc. of Sturgeon County, Alta., Robert Jones of Stony Plain, Alta. and Diane Bertrand and Robert Gilhespy of Lake Country, B.C. The win payout was $10.80.

To view Saturday’s harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Century Mile.

(Standardbred Canada; photo of Somewhat Tipsy winning on Nov. 7)