The top performers in the 2014 Alberta Sires Stakes program were featured at Alberta Downs on Saturday afternoon as they faced off in the rich Battle of Alberta Super Finals during one of the province's most anticipated race days of the year.
The quartet of $70,000 Super Finals for the pacing divisions highlighted the action-packed card, which also featured four $15,000 consolation races and a pair of Open events on the undercard.
Two-year-old pacing filly My Villas On Fire kicked off the Super Finals with a sizzling 1:54 track record performance for trainer and driver Jamie Gray. She eclipsed Blue Star Beauty's divisional record, set in 2011, by four-fifths of a second.
The favourites left for the lead with Fire Watch (Travis Cullen), three-for-three in ABSS action, crossing over to command over Honey Booboolina (Brandon Campbell) and My Villas On Fire dropping into third through a quick :27-second opening panel.
Fire Watch continued to lead the fillies through a rated second panel, reaching the half in :56.2, before Gray made his move with the My Villas On Fire and confronted the leader as they approached the 1:25.2 third quarter station.
The "fiery" fillies battled around the final turn, but even-money choice My Villas On Fire took over command into the stretch and drew off down the lane to win by a widening eight and a half lengths. Cam Finish (Philip Giesbrecht) came in second while Hot Time (Bill Tainsh Jr.) edged out Blue Star Texas (Keith Clark) in a photo for show ahead of Fire Watch.
"It was so exciting and this is my first baby that I've bred myself and made it to the races so I'm very excited," said Diane Bertrand, who shares ownership of the homebred Blue Burner-My Villa filly with fellow Edmonton resident Robert Gilhespy.
My Villas On Fire, a winner in the last two Starburst and Stardust legs of the Alberta Sires Stakes this season, paid $4.20 to win in the Super Final. She earned her sixth victory from 11 starts and nearly doubled her bankroll, which now stands at $74,090.
Making her 10th start, homebred filly Getter Queen Flush (Jk Royal Flush-Shes A Gogetter) scored a maiden-breaking victory in the consolation, wearing down I Am Miss T by half a length in 1:59.1 for trainer/driver Rod Hennessy and Edmonton-based owner Linda Duffield. She returned $15.50 for the upset.
In the next Super Final, Cool Cowboy wore down slight favourite Urcutoff to take the two-year-old pacing colt title for the Kelly Hoerdt stable.
Top B.C. reinsman Jim Marino flew in to catch-drive the Brandons Cowboy-Cool Grin colt for Hoerdt, who was watching from the sidelines with an injured ankle from a racing accident back in September. Hoerdt co-owns the Meridian Farms-bred, who he describes a "one of the best Alberta-bred colts I’ve ever had," with partners Blair Corbeil of Beaumont and Witsend Consulting Inc. of Calgary.
Urcutoff (Brandon Campbell), the 4-5 race favourite, led the field through fractions of :27.1, :56.4 and 1:25.1 and turned back the pocket-pulling Redheadfred (Jamie Gray) into the stretch. However, Marino tipped Cool Cowboy out three-deep after following in third and confronted the leader down the stretch, eventually edging clear for the 1:55 triumph. Urcutoff stayed for second, finishing two and a quarter lengths behind, while Pablos First (J.F. Gagne) rounded out the top three finishers.
"He got a really good trip and he really kicked home," said Marino after the race. "I drove him for the first time in his last stake race [the Premiers Stakes on Oct. 25] and I knew he was the one to beat. The Kelly Hoerdt stable had this horse ready to go today."
Cool Cowboy was a Rising Star division winner on Aug. 10 and has never missed the board in his 10 starts. His earnings soared to $68,919.
The 2-1 second choice paid $6.90 to win.
Hall of Fame horseman Keith Clark's freshman colt Rare Breed closed off cover and defeated persistent pacesetters Outlaw Deacon Jim and Rod Hennessy at the wire in 1:57.1 after a heated stretch battle in the consolation.
"He just got there...that Rod never likes to let me go by," quipped Clark after the homebred Camystic-Raritan colt earned his second consecutive victory and returned $5.90 at the betting windows.
The Hoerdt stable and Marino nearly collected another trophy in the three-year-old pacing filly Super Final with Barona Mercedes leading most of the mile, but favourite Nighttraintovegas and driver Brandon Campbell edged her out in a photo finish to steal the glory.
Four fillies left with Barona Mercedes the quickest, crossing over to command from her post seven starting spot and rolling off fractions of :27.2, :57.1 and 1:25.2. Meanwhile, Nighttraintovegas managed to flush out cover in the form of Eliseuinthedust (Jamie Gray) after getting away sixth and unleashed a wicked closing kick to reel in Barona Mercedes, who had opened up multiple lengths on top into the stretch. Barona Mercedes dug in late, but Nighttraintovegas nipped her by a nose for the career-best 1:53.2 victory. Eliseuinthedust finished over six lengths back in third.
Fresh off a victory in the Marquis Final on Oct. 18 and also the Princess champion earlier in the season on June 21, Nighttraintovegas paid $2.90 to win the championship.
Acknowledging that Nighttraintovegas won from a difficult spot, Campbell said, "This mare has raced up front a lot, but she's way better from off the pace. She can fly home and she came back to herself last [start] so I wasn't really worried about where I was going to get away, it was just who was going to get me close enough.
"'Mercedes' raced absolutely fantastic. She opened up five on me at the top of the stretch and I thought Jamie would take me a little closer into it, but he didn't. But once I pulled that trigger, man, my mare, she was pacing some fast."
Richard F. Schneider trains the homebred Camystic-Midnight In Vegas filly for Dick W. Schneider of Sherwood Park and David Halmosi of Edmonton. She has won half of her 14 starts this year while earning $116,311 in purses.
The consolation was won by heavy favourite Wrangler Rockette ($3) in a new lifetime mark of 1:54.3. Despite getting a little steppy early on when leaving for the lead, she put in a big :27.4 third quarter when challenged by Freesia to prevail by multiple lengths.
"We were pacing pretty strong the first piece and she's big gaited and she doesn't really know what she's doing for the first piece," explained trainer/driver Gerry Hudon from the winner's circle. "As soon as I pulled the plugs on her, one got racing her and she took off, she wants to race."
The lightly raced Brandons Cowboy-Ja El Shamrock filly, who earned her second win in a row and third in her debut season, is owned by breeders Dr. Maurice and Maureen Stewart of Leduc and Calgary's Gord Rumpel.
Blue Eyed Cowboy successfully defended his Super Final title, winning the three-year-old pacing colt championship with Bill Tainsh Jr. driving for trainer and owner Rod Starkewski of Lamont.
Sotally Tober (Jamie Gray) established the lead over insider Sonic Spark (Travis Cullen) with fellow leaver Comes Home First (Jim Marino) taking back into third. Sotally Tober proceed to lead the way through panels of :27.4, :57.3 and 1:25.2.
Meanwhile, Outlaw Gunpowder (Philip Giesbrecht) moved underway from the back of the pack and picked up cover from 2-5 favourite Blue Eyed Cowboy, who tipped out from mid-pack nearing the half-mile mark and flushed out Comes Home First during the third quarter.
Sotally Tober maintained the lead into the stretch with Comes Home First coming to him and Blue Eyed Cowboy kicking into high gear and rushing by on the outside for the victory in 1:53.1. Sotally Tober held on for second one length behind over Comes Home First with Sonic Spark finishing fourth.
“He’s probably one of the fastest horses I've ever driven, but he doesn’t go as fast as he can sometimes," commented Tainsh, noting the gelding gaped his cover a little bit on the backstretch before firing home. “I don’t know why he does. He kind of likes to give them a little head start. He seems to enjoy it more than I do," he laughed.
Blue Eyed Cowboy paid $2.90 to win.
The Brandons Cowboy-Eicarls Blue Eyes gelding now boasts seven wins in 17 starts this year, including the Marksman Final on Aug. 24, and $106,288 in purses.
"I would like to give full credit to Rod," added Tainsh. "Rod’s done a really good job. He’s as good today as he was the first time he raced and it’s a long year.”
In the consolation, the late-closing Cigar Party ($20.20), one of four Clark trainees in the race, picked up cover during the third panel and rallied home to pull off the upset, lowering his career mark to 1:54 flat with the wide-open winning effort. Hudon catch-drove the Clintons Cigar-Beyond Paradise colt, a two-time winner this season, for breeder Allan Neurauter of High River and co-owner Robert Jones of Slave Lake.
Trainer Travis Cullen swept the Open events on the undercard with the streaking Who Doesnt ($2.40) and repeat distaff winner Sing Like An Angel ($6.80).
Assigned outside his four rivals in the $8,400 Open-Claiming Handicap, Who Doesnt left for the lead and began to open up on top under the urging of Cullen during the third panel. Premier Attaction (Gerry Hudon) tried to reel in the leader as he closed hard from the back of the compact field, but Who Doesnt held on by half a length to extend his win streak to 11.
“He’s actually a very lazy horse,” noted Cullen. “Once he heard that other horse, he took off again, but he’d be the type of horse that can easily beat himself.”
The fractions were :27.2, :57, 1:24.1 and the final time was 1:52.1.
The five-year-old Mach Three-Labor Of Love gelding is owned by Travis Cullen along with Jeanne, Kenneth and Jodie Cullen, all of Glenboro, Manitoba.
Driven by Giesbrecht, Sing Like An Angel converted off a perfect pocket trip to win the matching Mares Open in a career-best 1:53.2. The four-year-old daughter of Bettors Delight out of Place At The Table defeated Blue Star Beauty (J.F. Gagne), who had led through panels of :27.1, :57.2 and 1:25.3 before being collared at the wire.
Sing Like An Angel is owned by Jodie and Ron Cullen, along with Keith and Margaret Hannah of Waskada, Manitoba. The win was her 14th of the season in 30 starts.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Alberta Downs.