Harnesslink’s Canadians handicap the National Driving Championships

Canadian harness racing correspondents Nicholas “Ace” Barnsdale and Trey Colbeck have locked in their predictions for Thursday’s (Nov. 24) slate of 10 races for the National Driving Championship at Century Mile.

The day’s top reinsman will represent Canada at the 2023 World Driving Championship in Italy. Gilles Barrieau, Pascal Berube, Marc Campbell, Samuel Fillion, Mike Hennessy, Doug McNair, Louis-Philippe Roy, and David Kelly will compete for the title and trip to Europe. The NDC races are 3-10.

Below are the selections and analysis from Harnesslink’s Canadian division:

Race 1 (non-NDC) – F&M $9,000 claiming

Trey: 5-1-2 | Ace: 1-5-2

Trey Colbeck: Chocolate Terror (Stonebridge Terror) is ready for another trip to the winner’s circle and with Louis-Phillippe Roy in the bike, there shouldn’t be many obstacles in the seven-year-old mare’s way. Her last win came on October 1st when trainer Kelly Hoerdy maneuvered her around the track at Century Downs in the time of 1:55.4. That performance was only one-fifth of a second off of her lifetime mark of 1:55.3 Chocolate Terror earned also at Century Mile back in August of this year. She draws post position five but won’t have to worry about much traffic as she is the farthest horse from the rail. A win on Thursday would put the mare over $150,000 in lifetime earnings.

Ace Barnsdale: Annasfeatherfoot (Custard The Dragon) has beaten all but one member of this field in her past four starts. Campbell should have the mare back on the lead but may face more aggressive foes with NDC competitors picking up drives. Regardless, I’d make her the favourite once she’s on top.

Race 2 (non-NDC) – $9,000 claiming

Trey: 6-5-2 | Ace: 6-2-5

Trey Colbeck: I’m calling it now that it will be a Louis-Phillipe Roy early daily double at Century Mile on Thursday. Phanatical Maniac (As Promised) has won three of his last five starts and finished second the other two times. The eleven-year-old gelding is the oldest and most race experienced pacer to draw into the race. His previous start last week at Century Mile was a second-place finish with a closing quarter mile time of :27.4. His previous win came on November 1st at Century Downs but he did not break any records with his mile time of 2:00.3. However, a couple of weeks before that, he was able to pace a mile in 1:54.4 in a winning effort.

Ace Barnsdale: Phanatical Maniac (As Promised) should be forwardly-placed by Roy. The gelding missed narrowly from the same post after dropping back last week but has won three of his past five.

Race 3 – F&M $9,000 claiming conditioned

Trey: 2-5-4 | Ace: 2-4-5

Trey Colbeck: The Manitoba bred mare, Jayden Riley (Lambretta) is my top pick in the third race. She’s only won three times so far in 2022 but all those wins have come in her last six starts. It’s taken some time, but she is starting to find a groove. Jayden Riley’s faster win of the year came back in early October in the time of 1:57.0 and she finished the race with a :29.0 last quarter. This time around, the five-year-old mare will team up with Doug McNair. I have full faith he can steer her around the mile track in Northern Alberta for her 12th lifetime win.

Ace Barnsdale: Jayden Riley (Lambretta) gets McNair and an inside draw following a decent first effort following the shift to Edmonton. She has a good chance to take lead or pocket after outpacing the inside starter. The driver change should see her at her best.

Race 4 – $5,000 claiming conditioned

Trey: 1-6-4 | Ace: 1-6-2

Trey Colbeck: It wouldn’t be a truly national event unless horses from across this amazing country were represented. It’s not hard to take the Saskatchewan bred mare, Oriental Express (Mystician) to win this one. Morning line odds at 1-1, bettors won’t get much value but it’s hard to bet against this five-year-old. Oriental Express won wire-to-wire her last time out and she held off the field with a closing : of 29.1 quarter. She has had pretty consistent closing quarters as of late with them all being around :29 seconds.  McNair scores another beauty with her and will be looking to add to her win total. This start should be McNair’s 1500th start in the bike in 2022.

Ace Barnsdale: McNair gets another big chance with the best horse from the rail. Oriental Express (Mystician) romped at this level on opening day and has everything going for her to repeat.

Race 5 – non-winners of five races or $35,000 lifetime

Trey: 3-8-6 | Ace: 8-1-6

Trey Colbeck: I’m going to go a bit off the board for this one and take the Shir Gain (Blue Burner) who comes in with morning line odds of 6-1. This four-year-old horse has a lifetime mark of 1:53.4 and he has had some great last quarter mile times this year. The only problem is he is very inconsistent as of late but when he does win, he looks great doing it. This race will a good chance for Pascal Berube to get some momentum going as he has some morning long longshots in the last half of the contest. If you are not wanting to risk it here, No Collusion (Riverboat King) should be near the top as he’s looking for his third straight win.

Ace Barnsdale: No Collusion (Riverboat King) will be hard to beat off a second-over trip. The gelding rose a condition here last week and tackled Alberta Sires Stakes consolation winner Wine Thirty. The five-year-old late bloomer has impressed in his debut season and is clearly superior.

Race 6 – $9,000 claiming conditioned

Trey: 2-1-4 | Ace: 1-2-4

Trey Colbeck: I’m heading back to the Pascal Berube well for the sixth race of the day. He teams up this time with Light My Shadow (Shadow Play). This will be the three-year-old’s 20th start of the year and he will be looking for his fifth win. He won last week here at Century Mile in the time of 1:57.0 and finished the mile with a :29.1 last quarter. His current lifetime mark is one second better than that at 1:56.0. A fun fact about Light My Shadow is that Thursday night will be only the second time he has drawn the second post position and he finished third his last time wearing the number two saddlecloth. Berube being abroad should help him change that fact.

Ace Barnsdale: Promising Flight (Test Flight) tried tougher foes last week but produced two straight strong front-end efforts to close the Century Downs meet before that. Light My Shadow will be a stern test off a dominant effort, but I’ll back Roy from the cones.

Race 7 – $9,000 claiming conditioned

Trey: 6 (UPSET OF THE YEAR) -7-2 | Ace: 2-7-1

Trey Colbeck: No, this is not a typo. I’m going with the Manitoba-bred and trained, Irish Jean (Youshouldseemenow). You’re probably looking at your screen thinking that I must be losing my mind and you’re probably right but not when it comes to this. There isn’t much to look at if you look at the four-year-old mare’s complete racing history but she has been improving as of late. She just moved into the Chris Brown Stable and she finished fourth in her first start since the move. But she was well back of the pack near the half-mile pole and she was able to catch up by the wire. If this time she has a better start, there should be no reason why we don’t see her in the winner’s circle. Dave Mooney who co-owns the mare has had a long and prosperous career in Manitoba. An Irish Jean win would be just another feather in his cap. It will be Mike Hennessy’s job to steer her on Thursday and will be looking to pick up her fourth career win.

Ace Barnsdale: Introduce Yourself (Sunshine Beach) showed improvement closing into mild fractions in the Edmonton curtain-raiser. An inside draw makes things easier; a helmet to chase should spell victory for the filly.

Race 8 – $9,000 claiming conditioned

Trey: 6-5-3 | Ace: 1-6-3

Trey Colbeck: It kills me to take Prairie Pursuit (Mystery Chase) because it’s another selection of mine that comes from the land of Pilsner and the Roughriders. The Saskatchewan bred gelding teams up with Marc Campbell and the combination of prairie and maritime might be too much for the rest of the field to handle. He started well in his last race but was passed just before the finish line. Although he was passed, he still had the final quarter mile time of :28.4. He only has four wins over two years of racing, but he has an excellent opportunity to add to that total in the primetime light.

Ace Barnsdale: Hotlikewasabi (Malicious) has needed luck since his last win on Oct. 14. The gelding got the second tier two back and an overland opening half on Nov. 4 in Calgary. A three-week break and inside draw will suit him well.

Race 9 – $9,000 claiming conditioned

Trey: 6-8-3 | Ace: 1-6-3

Trey Colbeck: Grampian Road (Vertical Horizon) has been falling just short of winning in his last two starts. Teaming up with Samuel Fillion this time should be enough to get him over the hill. The three-year-old gelding only has one win so far in 2022 but he has a good shot to add to the total with not much time left until the new year. In his last start, Grampian Road had a closing quarter mile time of :28.0 and that will be something he could surely improve on while being entered in the National Driving Championship.

Ace Barnsdale: Hey Stanley (Jk Royal Flush) won a taxing third-quarter battle last time and finished gamely in third. The colt is one-for-24 but has been trending up as of late and gets as good a shot as any with Kelly from the inside.

Race 10 – $6,000 claiming

Trey: 3-4-5 | Ace: 5-3-4

Trey Colbeck:

Ace Barnsdale: Blue Who (Blue Burner) qualified very sharply on Nov. 18 and won three straight against similar at Century Downs before stepping up. Campbell should be able to slot the gelding in near the front.

National Driving Champion selection:

Trey: Doug McNair

Ace: Louis-Philippe Roy

For complete race entries, click here.

by Harnesslink Media