The 2024 harness racing season concluded at Century Downs on Saturday, Aug. 31, and some of the province's best performers made appearances on the racetrack and in the winner's circle over the 10-race card.
Saturday's slate offered a quartet of stakes races and an amped-up $25,000 Preferred Pace.
The purse wasn't the only part of the Preferred that was amped-up. Phil Giesbrecht had second choice Samba beat amped up early to front the field, pocketing 1-9 favourite Shark Week (Mike Hennessy) through a sizzling :25.2 opening quarter — the fastest in track history. Samba Beat maintained his lead through a :53.3 half but Shark Week had enough of the two hole once the field straightened down the backside.
Hennessy asked Shark Week ($2.10) to clear before that far turn, and the reigning Alberta Horse of the Year responded willingly to trip the third timer in 1:21.1. The lead didn't diminish from there as Shark Week turned a five-length margin at the head of the stretch to a seven-length victory in 1:50.4. Needabankloan (Kelly Hoerdt) closed to best Samba Beat for second.
Rod Hennessy trains and co-owns Shark Week (Vertical Horizon - Shark Gone Bad) along with Lorne Duffield of Edmonton, Alta. The win marked the 47th time that Shark Week had his post-race photo taken, and the purse lifted his career bankroll to $401,475.
Custard Dolce ($3.00) delivered as the 1-2 choice in the $70,000 ASHA Filly Pace for two-year-old pacing fillies, duplicating the seven-length win margin of Shark Week while adding a new lifetime mark and setting a track record in the process.
Leaving from post two with driver Phil Giesbrecht up, Custard Dolce settled away in fourth as second choice Mademechangemymind (Nathan Sobey) managed the early speed of :27.1 and :57.1 on the front end. Giesbrecht angled Custard Dolce into the outer flow before the half and started that attack on the leader.
Those two fillies locked horns down the backside with Custard Dolce poking a head in front through a 1:24.3 third station. Around the far turn, Custard Dolce powered past and kept accelerating through the stretch. With a :29.2 final panel, Custard Dolce stopped the clock in 1:54 to etch her name in the track record books. Mademechangemymind finished second with Imashipwreck (Brandon Campbell) best of the rest in third.
Now a four-time winner in five appearances, Custard Dolce (Custard The Dragon - Blue Star West) sports a bankroll of $63,987 for trainer / co-owner Jamie Gray and co-owners Jackson Wittup of Calgary, Max Gibb of Millarville and Derek Wilson of Heritage Pointe, Alta.
The time of the shaved more than a full second off the former record, 1:55.2, set in 2020 by Burning Hot.
All eyes were on Momas Work Of Art in the $70,000 Century Casinos Pace for rookie male pacers, but a bobble by that 1-2 shot at the gate changed the complexion of this race from the onset.
Second choice Discontinued (Campbell) left stoutly from post three and made the lead over longshot Outlawminutbyminut (Logan Gillis), and those two fronted the field through the :28.4 opening quarter and soft :59.1 half. Momas Work Of Art (Serge Masse) had the leader in his sights advancing up on the rim, making it into third position by the 1:27.2 third station.
Around that final bend, Discontinued unraveled and made a rough break that caused interference to the forwardly-placed horses. Gillis was able to quickly collect Outlawminutbyminut, who had clear sailing and no competition to the wire. He scored in a lifetime best 1:57.1.
Discontinued finished second, but was placed fifth for that interference at the head of the stretch. Worldsgreatestsin (Hennessy) moved up to second from third, and Custers Sand (Sobey) finished fourth and was placed third.
Despite winning his Century Casinos elim, Outlawminutbyminut (Smart Shark - At The Hour) was sent off at 27-1 in Saturday's final. He returned $57.40 to his supporters here in his second lifetime victory. Gillis also trains and co-owns the winner of $41,750 lifetime along with Todd Teolis of St. Albert, Alta.
The finals of the Alberta Princess and Plainsman each provided an interesting wrinkle: favoured sophomores with trailing post nine starting spots. As good horses do, they find a way to prevail, and that's exactly what Outlawguns N Roses and Grey Horizon did on Saturday.
In the $53,900 final of the Alberta Princess, Outlawguns N Roses ($2.70) watched from sixth early as second choice Over Ice (Campbell) tried to gain separation on her main rival. As Over Ice skated through splits of :27.4, :57.2 and 1:24.1, Dave Kelly had Outlawguns N Roses advancing first up from the three-eighths marker. With a two-length advantage at the head of lane, Over Ice tried to see it through but the question remained if she had enough left to hold off the favourite. In the final strides, Outlawguns N Roses got up to win by a half-length with the mile timed in 1:52.3. Oye Como Va (Sobey) completed the top trio.
Outlawguns N Roses (Captive Audience - Gunslingin Gal) now sports a 12-4-0 summary from 19 starts with $269,700 in earnings. Her trainer, Rod Starkewski of Lamont, Alta. trains and co-owns the track record holder with Clauzette Byckal of Onoway, Alta.
Grey Horizon ($2.80) concluded the 2024 season at Century Downs with an impressive off-the-pace effort in the $54,500 Alberta Plainsman for three-year-old male pacers.
Sent off at 2-5, Grey Horizon landed in sixth for driver Brandon Campbell as Outlaw Game On (Hennessy) and Come On Santanna (Gray) took turns on the lead through the :56 opening half. Matteuse (Sobey) started the first over flow from the half, with Rum N Custard (Hoerdt) second over heading to the third station.
Campbell had more than 10 lengths to make up at the half, and started to advance down the backside to eventually situate third over and then tip three-wide at the 1:23.2 third station. Campbell carefully carried Grey Horizon around that far turn as he got a bit rough, but he was able to steady the speedster and once he had a straight line to the wire he was smooth as silk. Grey Horizon got up over Matteuse to win by a length in 1:53.4, with Rum N Custard in the show spot.
Grey Horizon (Vertical Horizon - Panagler) is also trained by Campbell for owners Jodi Loftus, Raymond Henry and George Rogers all of Calgary, Alta. The flashy roan colt now boasts $240,210 in earnings by virtue of a 11-6-0 record from 19 appearances.
With a pair of victories on the afternoon, Mike Hennessy secured leading driver honours for the 2024 season at Century Downs. His 75 seasonal victories topped Campbell (72) and David Kelly (66).
With the victory of Grey Horizon, Brandon Campbell added to his leading trainer numbers and notched his 53rd win of the meet to top all conditioners. Hoerdt (43) and Travis Ellis (33) boasted the next best win totals.
Racing in Alberta continues at The Track On 2 with Century Mile starting its 2024 Standardbred meet on Saturday, Sept. 21.
For the results from Saturday's card of harness racing outside of Calgary, click the following link: Saturday Results - Century Downs.
(Standardbred Canada)
Shark Week trivia
Even though Shark Week won by 7 lengths, his last quarter time of 29.3 was his "slowest" last quarter time in 48 races and 2 qualifiers, and in more than 2 years. His last 29.3 final quarter was on July 2, 2022.