Century Downs kicked off the Friday, Aug. 28 card with a retirement ceremony for Stash The Cookies, Alberta's reigning Champion Aged Mare since 2022.
Owned by Fred and Alice Gilbert of Brandon, Man. and trained by Chris Lancaster, Stash The Cookies was paraded in front of the grandstand to open the Friday night program before being honoured in an official retirement ceremony followed by a meet and greet with fans.
A 50-time career winner with $523,549 in purse earnings, the 10-year-old by Sunfire Blue Chip out of Saucy B retires as the Century Downs track record holder for older pacing mares with a mark of 1:51.2 that has stood since August 2022.
"I've never seen a mare with that much drive and will just to race," said Lancaster, who was introduced to Stash The Cookies while working for the Rod Hennessy stable when she was a two-year-old and has trained the mare on and off himself over the course of her career after she was claimed by the late Derek Gilbert.
Stash The Cookies made winner's circle appearances for Lancaster, Hennessy, Logan Gillis and John Chappell. In addition to her 50 wins, she finished second 32 times and was third in 17 races, hitting the board in 66 per cent of her 149 starts.
Stash The Cookies won the Gord & Illa Rumpell Memorial as a three-year-old for Hennessy and earned the majority of her other wins while facing the top Preferred/Open distaffers in the province. Ending her career back in Lancaster's barn with her last race on July 17, she earned her final two victories in the spring while still competing in the Mares Preferred class.
Lancaster noted that Stash The Cookie's first embryo foal is by Dancin Lou named Stash The Timbits and she is booked to Bulldog Hanover next.
In this week's $15,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred Handicap Pace, Poker Queen took a new lifetime mark of 1:52.3 as part of a training triple on the nine-race card for Gerry Hudon.
Lancaster trainees Sandras Mystery (Brandon Campbell) and 3-5 favourite Georgian Hanover (David Kelly) traded turns on the lead through opening panels of :27 and :55.4 with Blowing Inthe Wind (Kelly Hoerdt) going head-to-head with the bettors' choice as they raced to three-quarters in 1:24.1. However, Poker Queen was poised to pounce off cover for driver Phil Giesbrecht and swept by in the stretch to prevail as Little Rhys Chick (Mike Hennessy) gave chase from the back of the compact field and finished half a length back just to her inside. Blowing Inthe Wind finished third.
Poker Queen was the 9-2 third choice in the field of five with the streaking Grey Sea scratched sick and she returned $13.90 for the mild upset. The win was her second competing at the Mares Preferred level and 14th lifetime, increasing her bankroll to $113,164.
Giesbrecht shares ownership of the five-year-old Betting Line-Hedgie Blue Chip mare with Monica Hudon of Sturgeon County, Alta., and Denise Andrew of Calgary, Alta.
Poker Queen was one of three winners through the first five races for trainer Gerry Hudon and company. Three-year-old pacing filly Post Time ($2.50) lowered her lifetime mark to 1:56.2 and four-year-old claiming pacer Shadow Boxing ($2.80) was victorious in 1:57.3 for the same connections.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click the following link: Friday Results - Century Downs.
(Standardbred Canada)