Alberta's finest will square off at Century Downs on Saturday (Nov. 17) in the $300,000 Alberta Sire Stakes Challenge of Champions Super Finals. The four finals are carded as the seventh through 10th races on a program slated to begin at 12:45 p.m. (MST).
Two-year-old pacing fillies contest the first of four $75,000 finals in race seven, and likely favourite Rockin Mystery carries a three-race winning streak into the event. The winner of both the Jim Rogers and Alberta Stardust stakes will start from post 5, and Brandon Campbell will drive for trainer Christopher Lancaster and owners Rod Therres and Blair Miller. Gin Twist, who led juvenile fillies in seasonal standings, lines up from post 6 following her runner-up finish in the Stardust and an Alberta Starlet win in August. Paul Davies is listed to drive the Vertical Horizon filly for trainer Harold Haining.
Juvenile pacing colts and geldings square off in race eight, and Smart Shark colt Outlawgrabbingears looks to continue his dominance after winning five of seven races thus far in his career. The multiple stakes winner, who took a mark of 1:55.2 at Century in August, starts from post 4 for trainer Rod Starkewski and driver Paul Davies, who shares ownership with Nicole Cecchin and Deborah Pinel. I Ama Rocket, jointly second in the divisional standings with Crackle N Burn, starts from post 2 after a runner-up finish to Outlawgrabbingears in last week's $24,600 Alberta Shooting Star. J.F. Gagne trains and drives the three-time winner by Custard The Dragon.
Fresh off a win in the Alberta Marquis, Bearcat Josii is among the top contenders in the three-year-old filly pace (race nine). A winner in three of her 18 races this season, the daughter of Blue Burner narrowly missed Cusdmagicdragon (post 5) in the $125,000 Don Byrne at Northlands last month. Jamie Gray drives Bearcat Josi for trainer Douglas Stout. Cusdmagicdragon, whose three-race win streak was snapped in the Marquis, races for trainer-driver Kelly Hoerdt, who shares ownership of the Custard The Dragon filly with breeders Blair and Erna Corbeil. Last year's two-year-old champion, Roaring Home, has drawn post 1 for trainer Keith Clark and driver Bobby Clark, but has only won once in 23 starts this season.
Exit Smiling will look to conclude the card as the best among Alberta-sired three-year-old pacing colts and geldings (race 10), and has every chance to do so on the heels of a commanding 9-1/2 length win in the $46,000 Alberta Maverick earlier in the month. Jamie Gray drives and trains the Vertical Horizon gelding, who will start from post 5 after not racing at age two and winning six of 11 races this season.
To view Saturday's entries, click the following link: Saturday Entries – Century Downs.
To view program pages via TrackIT, click the following link: Saturday Program Pages – Century Downs.