Poker Queen proved to be an ace in the hole for the hot-handed Phil Giesbrecht in the $15,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred Pace at Century Downs on Friday, June 5.
Giesbrecht, who drove the first three winners on the Friday night card leading up to the fourth race feature, got the two-hole for Poker Queen behind Stash The Cookies (Brandon Campbell) as that 3-4 favourite forged ahead in a :28.4 first quarter and rated a second panel to the half in :58.2. Always Gonna B You (Drew Campbell) was right-lined from third down the backstretch and applied first-over pressure to three-quarters in 1:26.3, but levelled off entering the stretch giving clearance to Poker Queen, who launched from the pocket and went by Stash The Cookies in the lane to score by two lengths in 1:56.2. Longshot Bares All (Logan Gillis) closed from the back of the five-pack for third.
Sent postward as the 2-1 second choice, Poker Queen returned $6.30 to win. The Gerry Hudon trainee earned her first Preferred victory after hitting the board in five of her seven prior attempts competing at this level. The five-year-old Betting Line-Hedgie Blue Chip mare now has 13 career wins from 30 starts and just shy of $90,000 in earnings for his Alberta owners, including Giesbrecht, along with Monica Hudon of Sturgeon County and Denise Andrew of Calgary.
Giesbrecht's first Friday winner was also for the same connections as three-year-old pacing filly Post Time broke her maiden, winning her seventh race in 1:58.2. After his successful start, the 2026 Western Regional Driving Champion later closed out the the nine-race card with a fifth winning drive. In three other starts, Giesbrecht was a runner-up twice and finished third.
A $12,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred 2 Handicap Pace also contested on Friday's program went to 9-5 favourite Outlaw Sharktastic, who tracked the cover of Sandras Mystery (Brandon Campbell) and chased down that late leader in the stretch to win in 1:57 by 1-1/4 lengths for trainer/driver Nathan Sobey. Outlawguns N Roses (Drew Campbell) and the winner's stablemate JK ATM (Mike Hennessy) closed for the second and third spots ahead of Sandras Mystery.
Despite going winless in her first 10 starts of the season, the career winner of more than a quarter of a million dollar was the 9-5 favourite and returned $5.60 to her backers. An Alberta owned and bred eight-year-old daughter of Smart Shark and Outlaw Alleyesonme, Outlaw Sharktastic's connections include Sobey Racing Inc. of Sturgeon County, Glenda Winkleman of Edmonton and Glenn Pinel of Calgary.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click the following link: Friday Results - Century Downs.
(Standardbred Canada)