In one of this Saturday’s two most prestigious races of the year with both going for more than $100,000, Brandon Campbell is the ‘huntee’ with the sublime Grey Horizon in the Western Canada Pacing Derby. In the other, the Century Casino Filly Pace, he is one of the hunters with Over Ice looking to try to topple Outlawguns N Roses.
“It’s a great place to be right now,” said Campbell, perennially one of Alberta’s top drivers and trainers. “I’ve got a good shot in both of them.”
On paper, which races aren’t contested on, Grey Horizon is clearly the one to beat having won seven of his 12 races this year -- his last five in a row including the $105,570 Ralph Klein Memorial in a personal best 1:53 -- and 12 of his 20 career starts.
The three-year-old son of Vertical Horizon won the second of two Pacing Derby eliminations this past Saturday at Century Mile, but it was close with the margin of victory being just three-quarters of a length over hard-charging Outlawstaythcourse and Hurricane J in a three-horse photo.
“I think he’s a pretty typical Vertical Horizon colt in that he doesn’t win by more than they have to,” said Campbell. “He came out of the elimination very good. He didn’t even take a deep breath after the race.”
It was Grey Horizon’s first start in over a month, but Campbell knew the colt he owns with Jodi Loftus, Raymond Henry and George Rogers was fit enough.
“I trained him in 1:53 a week before the elimination.”
The Derby is expected to be Grey Horizon’s last start in Alberta with Campbell saying the owners have been fielding several offers for the winner of $247,210.
In the first elimination, Rememberthecustard got a perfect journey and just got by favoured Rum N Custard and One Hot Minute in the final strides to win by a head at odds of 5-1.
Both eliminations were clocked in 1:55 flat.
“Rememberthecustard got a great trip,” said trainer Rod Hennessy of the strategy used by his son Mike getting away in third position and not having to use his horse until the final eighth of a mile.
Owned by Lorne Duffield, Rememberthecustard earned just his third win in 18 starts this season, but two of those wins have come in his last three starts.
“He’s slowly getting better,” said Hennessy. “He’s a great big horse and I think he is maturing at hopefully the right time. Or maybe he’s a horse that is just better on a mile track.”
This past Saturday’s elimination was only the second time this year Rememberthecustard had raced at Century Mile.
"He raced good. He kicked in good,” said Hennessy, who has won three Derbies.
Another trainer/driver with three Derby wins is Kelly Hoerdt, having won with the marvellous Trust The Artist, who would win 53 of his 169 starts, in 2007; Outlaw Gunpowder in 2014 and then Kneedeep N Custard in 2019.
The top four finishers from this past weekend’s eliminations make it to Saturday’s final at Century Mile with a draw between the two fifth-place finishers landing Believe It Sea It with the ninth and final spot and a third entrant for Hoerdt, who also qualified Rum N Custard and Hurricane J.
“This has not been a stellar year for three-year-old colts and geldings,” said Hoerdt. “That makes for a competitive race.
“On form Grey Horizon is the one to beat. But I really believe that anyone is capable of winning or losing depending on how the race goes. The right trip and the right post will decide it,” said Hoerdt, who has won just under $20 million as both a trainer and a driver and is a two-time winner of the O’Brien Award of Horsemanship.
Upsets aren’t all that unusual in the Derby. Last year, favourite Virtual Horizon, who had won 13 in a row, lost to Blue Star Mercury.
As for the Century Casino Filly Pace, Outlawguns N Roses will be the favourite having won nine of her 11 starts this year and 13 of 20 outings in her career. She has already earned almost $275,000.
But a three-year-old fillies Open race that was also on this past Saturday’s card showed that Outlawguns N Roses is not unbeatable.
Outlawguns N Roses won that race, but it was by a whisker as pacesetter Over Ice took what appeared to be an insurmountable lead but just barely failed to hang on in a race that went in 1:53.1 -- just three-fifths of a second off the three-year-old filly track record at Century Mile. Owned by trainer Rod Starkewski and Clauzette Byckal, Outlawguns N Roses went in 1:51.3 at Century Downs in Calgary when she won the Gord and Illa Rumpel Memorial on Aug. 10 by eight lengths.
“On Saturday, I think Over Ice may have lost sight of Outlawguns N Roses and stopped fighting,” said Campbell. “Over Ice was real good and I know that Over Ice will have to be at her absolute best to beat Outlawguns N Roses.
"I have nothing but respect for Rod's filly. I don’t know if I’ve seen a horse like her. But Over Ice is peaking at the right time. She’s feeling good, which she wasn’t earlier this year.
“Outlawguns N Roses and Over Ice have finished heads apart in their last two meetings and we came up just short both times,” said Campbell, referring to this past Saturday’s duel and the Alberta Sires Stakes Princess final on Aug. 31 when Over Ice missed by just half a length. “I’ve definitely got a shot.”
The $131,720 Century Casino Pace is scheduled as race nine with the $107,030 Western Canada Pacing Derby as the 11th race on Saturday. Post time for the 12-race card is 7:30 p.m.
To view Saturday's complete entries, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Century Mile.
(Curtis Stock / thehorses.com)