Flak Jacket circled a short field of four to prevail in the featured $8,500 Open Pace on Saturday afternoon at Alberta Downs.
A runner-up last week to Timberline Court, Flak Jacket turned the tables on the reigning Alberta Horse of the Year for a 1:54.4 score.
After trailing the field for most of the mile, the six-year-old son of Brandons Cowboy kicked home in :27.1 to win by one and a half lengths over favourite Timberline Court and Gerry Hudon. Second choice Trust The Artist and Kelly Hoerdt finished third off a pocket trip while Sixdaysontheroad and Bill Tainsh Jr. finished six lengths behind after leading through fractions of :29.2, :58.4 and 1:26.3. Mr Saratoga was scratched sick.
Flak Jacket, the 3-1 third choice, paid $8 to win for the second time in seven seasonal starts.
The career winner of 18 races and $233,307 in purses is owned by Gray along with Neil Malloch of Wetaskiwin, Alta. and Fred Gilbert and Richard Osterbeck, both of Brandon, MB.
Crackers Hot Shot, last season's Two-Year-Old Alberta Sired Filly of the Year, also came from last in the first pari-mutuel start of her sophomore campaign to take a new lifetime mark of 1:56.3 for Tainsh Jr. and trainer-owner Rod Starkewski of Lamont, Alta. The Camcracker-Shesahotshot filly defeated the Gerry Hudon-driven Cloud Nine by more than two lengths and favourite Skade, trained and driven by Kelly Hoerdt, paying $30.70 for the upset.
In Saturday's qualifying action, Blue Star Beauty, a former Two-Year-Old Alberta Sired Filly of the Year in 2011, won her four-year-old debut with a 1:59.2 wire-to-wire effort in rein to Tainsh Jr. for trainer Doug Stout and owner Derek Stout of Camrose, Alta.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following links: Saturday Results - Saturday Qualifiers.