Three-year-old pacing colt First Class Horse stole the show in the Gordon Rumpel Stakes lowering his own divisional track record on Saturday afternoon at Century Downs Racetrack and Casino while Alberta Open star Who Doesnt paced the fastest mile to date at the Calgary oval.
First Class Horse lowered his track record for three-year-olds by one-fifth of a second to 1:54.1 in the first $20,000 stakes division for trainer/driver Keith Clark.
Vow To Win (Gerry Hudon) was the first to fire off the gate from post four with First Class Horse, from post three, floating out and bypassing a tight three-hole on his way to the top. He cleared to command past the :27.3 first quarter mark and posted middle fractions of :56.4 with 1:25. Meanwhile, Pablos First moved around a tiring Vow To Win and dropped into pocket down the backstretch. He then took a shot at First Class Horse in the stretch, but the 1-9 favourite pulled away to win by two and a half lengths. Pablos First (Phil Giesbrecht) held on for second over Cool Cowboy (Kelly Hoerdt).
First Class Horse is now undefeated in seven sophomore starts with over $75,000 banked in purses this season for owners Robert Jones of Slave Lake, Alta. and Doris McDougall of Cochrane, Alta.
While First Class Horse is eligible to the Pepsi North America Cup, Clark had indicated prior to Sunday's stakes event that he was not planning to ship the Western Terror-Susurrus Hanover colt to Toronto until later this summer.
Outlaw Deacon Jim was victorious in a career-best 1:56.1 mile in the second Rumpel division with Paul Davies driving for trainer Rod Hennessy and owner Lorne Duffield of Edmonton.
With the inside post advantage, 3-2 favourite Outlaw Deacon Jim took the lead off the gate and forced the leaving Chillinlikeavillin (Phil Giesbrecht) to take back into the two-hole through a :28.1 first quarter. Johnny Gun (Gerry Hudon) went on the attack just before the :59.3 half-mile mark, swiftly moving up to confront the leader and edging ahead on the outside. But Outlaw Deacon Jim fought back on the way to three-quarters in 1:27 and held off the three-wide Have Not Read It (Kelly Hoerdt) in the stretch to win by a quarter-length. Johnny Gun and Mysharona Bluechip (Keith Clark) were right there in the four-across finish.
The Blue Burner-Billie J Blue Chip colt is now three-for-five in his sophomore campaign with his first stakes win doubling his seasonal earnings, which now amount to nearly $20,000.
The connections of both First Class Horse and Outlaw Deacon Jim were joined by members of the Rumpel family in the winner's circle for their blanket presentations.
In this week's $10,500 Open, the Travis Cullen stable standout Who Doesnt reclaimed his title as the all-age track record holder as he romped to a three and a quarter length victory in 1:52.3. Jeanne, Kenneth and Jodie Cullen share ownership of the six-year-old Mach Three gelding. Premium Attaction (Gerry Hudon) and Totally Sober (Jamie Gray) rounded out the top three finishers.
Who Doesnt's stablemate, Feelin Flush, previously held the all-age track record of 1:53, which still stands as the mares mark. He also erased Medicine Hat's name from the record books, replacing his 1:53.2 record for older male pacers.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Sunday's Results - Century Downs.