Mercedes extended his Preferred winning streak to four with an authoritative victory in the $16,000 Preferred Handicap Pace on Sunday, Jan. 18 at Century Mile.
Burdened with post eight, Brandon Campbell floated Mercedes out and gradually moved him forward on the outside through the quarter in :27.1. A procession of lead changes in the first half of :55.2 ended with Mercedes reaching past Shark Week (Mike Hennessy) to take over at the midway point. Rum N Custard (Kelly Hoerdt) then wound up from fifth and harassed the new leader through three-quarters in 1:25, but Mercedes outpaced him down the lane and won by two lengths in 1:53.1. Rum N Custard finished second, and Key Dragon (Chris Brown) closed for third.
Mercedes, trained by Campbell for Raymond Henry of Calgary, Alta., has won four consecutive Preferreds and is two-for-two in 2026. The six-year-old son of All Bets Off-Skade boasts a record of 23 wins and $166,496 in earnings in 44 starts. He paid $3.40 to win.
To view Sunday’s harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Century Mile.
(Standardbred Canada)