If there was ever a day for a grand slam at Century Downs, it would be the day that Packwood Grand packed the infield. Thank the participants from the Kelly Hoerdt barn for providing the stellar performance that allowed for the easy headline.
Hoerdt connected for four winners on the day, guiding the first two to victory himself. Beach Myst ($6.90) got up by neck in the second to win in 1:59, and then he came right back to see track photographer Caitlin Fancy in the third thanks to Chuck Your Farlie ($8.70) and a 1:54.3 score.
Mike Hennessy handled Chocolate Terror ($4.40) for Hoerdt in the fifth and went wire-to-wire to hold on by a head in 1:56, then Phil Giesbrecht delivered for Hoerdt with In High Cotton in the $14,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred Pace to complete the Saturday four-bagger.
The slight favourite over Grey Sea, In High Cotton also employed front-end tactics for the winning excursion to repeat at the top class. After fractions of :27.1, :55.3 and 1:23.1, In High Cotton's :29.3 final panel was more than enough to hold off pocket-sitting Grey Sea (Nathan Sobey) by three parts of a length with the mile timed in 1:52.4.
In High Cotton (Somebeachsomewhere - Olivette Hanover) is owned by Hoerdt along with Blair & Erna Corbeil of Leduc, Alta. The five-year-old picked up her ninth win of the season and 18th lifetime to lift her career bankroll to $192,017.
Hoerdt's four-win day puts his training win total at 2,392 for his award-winning career to go along with $17,887,327 in earnings.
The 11-race card on Saturday handled $332,168 in wagers, higher than the $256,727 that was the record from Packwood Grand's visit in 2022 to establish a new record handle at the Calgary-area oval.
For results from Saturday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Saturday Results - Century Downs.