Mercedes maintained his Century Downs Preferred Pace crown with a second straight tempo-setting score in the $16,000 feature on Saturday, May 9, moving his seasonal record to four-for-six.
The six-year-old stallion emerged from a three-horse line with the lead entering the first turn and put up a first panel of :28. With longshot Outlaw Game On (Logan Gillis) first-up through the half in :57, Mercedes shifted up a gear to three-quarters in 1:24.2 to dispatch that rival. He extended his lead coming into the stretch, and there was no late opposition as he coasted home for trainer-driver Brandon Campbell in 1:52.1 over the track rated good. Key Dragon (Rod Therres) flew from the back to get past Midnight Mover (James Jungquist) late for second.
Mercedes recorded his fastest mile of the season while upping his carer tally to 25-for-48. The son of All Bets Off-Skade has earned $186,216 for Raymond Henry of Calgary, Alta. He paid $4 to win.
Trainer Rebecca Kanak and driver Mike Hennessy combined for a quartet of wins, with Hennessy adding a pair for different conditioners to end the day with six. Together, they won with first-time starter Shootemjakeshootem ($11.60), Tahuya Velocious ($2.80), Blue Powder ($5.30) and Outlaw Playmymovie ($12.10). The grand slam moved Kanak’s 2026 total to 35 victories in 127 starts — a 27.6 per cent win rate. She leads the Century Downs standings with 17 wins.
Hennessy also piloted Mathew Howlett’s Mcwilly ($12.30) and Brinsley Brooking-Lutz’s Came A Cavalier ($3) to victory. After a career-best year in 2025, he is 46-for-219 this season and is now on top of the Century Downs standings with 23 victories.
To view Saturday’s harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Century Downs.
(Standardbred Canada)