Gearing up for the ABSS Super Final Saturday

It is time to crown the top Alberta-sired harness racing horses, and over $416,000 is up for grabs during the Super Finals Saturday (Nov. 4) card at Century Mile. Two-year-old and three-year-old divisions for both fillies and colts will go for $75,000. There are also consolations for each division going for $15,000. The card also features a Preferred with Shark Week (Vertical Horizon) attempting to go for his 13th straight win. The Fillies & Mares Preferred will see Stash The Cookies (Sunfire Blue Chip) teaming up with Doug McNair. McNair is scheduled to be in the bike for 12 races on Saturday. Also, the reigning top driver from Manitoba, Blake Piwniuk, is set to return to Alberta this weekend and has a few scheduled drives.

RACE 8: ABSS SUPER FINALS TWO-YEAR-OLD COLTS & GELDINGS – $75,000 

1. Matteuse (5-2)  
2. Sharkasaurus (20-1)
3. Cenalta Gunfire (30-1)  
4. Grey Horizon (9-5)  
5. Nevada Dragon (20-1)                       
6. Hf Winknat Jenna (15-1)                        
7. Come On Santana (2-1)           
8. Blueline Bruiser (20-1)               
9. Tzilacatzin (20-1)

This is a heck of a race to kick off the Super Final part of the card. The top choices are all evenly matched, and the rest of the field is considered heavy underdogs. Come On Santana (Santanna Blue Chip) has won three of his last four starts. Jamie Gray has been in charge of driving but gave the reigns to Jody Jamieson last time out in the Rocky Mountain Boys. The duo put up a big 1:56.0 mile, which just missed matching Come On Santana’s lifetime mark of 1:55.4. There will be no drop-off this weekend as Doug McNair will be in the sulky.  

Although Matteuse (Custard The Dragon) has a faster lifetime mark than Come On Santana, it should still be a fight right to the end. Matteuse’s personal best time was his 1:53.2 performance in the Rocky Mountain Boys. He has only one other win before that, which came in the ABSS Lonestar. The two-year-old never finished in the top three before his two wins, but he has found his form at the right moment.

Grey Horizon (Vertical Horizon) fell just short last weekend to Matteuse but still heads into Super Finals as the 9-5 favourite. He has nearly been perfect this year with five wins in seven starts, and the only two blemishes were second-place finishes. Grey Horizon has a lifetime mark of 1:55.2 but recorded a 1:53.2 when he fell just short last time out.

My Picks: 7-1-4

RACE 9: ABSS SUPER FINALS TWO-YEAR-OLD FILLIES- $75,000 

1. Born A Spy (6-1)                 
2. Outlawguns N Roses (6-5)                
3. Severe Turbulence (15-1)            
4. Byby Baby Byby (8-5)             
5. Foothills Magic (10-1)                   
6. Cf Faline (20-1)          
7. Delta Sunrise (20-1)                              
8. Dragon Dancer (30-1)
9. Caughtstealinghome (20-1)            

Byby Baby Byby (Vertical Horizon) lost the last time she met up with Outlawguns N Roses in the Brad Gunn. However, she did win their previous meeting in the ABSS Starburst, and she put up her lifetime mark of 1:52.2. She has the fastest mile time of anyone in the field, and she has won three of her last four. Byby Baby Byby was given morning line odds at 8-5 is a slight underdog to Outlawguns N Roses, but it could really go either way.

Outlawguns N Roses (Captive Audience) has never finished worse than second place in six career starts. She also has four wins in that time and a lifetime mark of 1:53.2. Outlawguns N Roses duelled Byby Baby Byby in their last start and won with ease in 1:54.0.

Born A Spy (Smart Shark) is heading into the Super Final with back-to-back wins. She put up a new lifetime mark of 1:55.4 her last time out and has won four of her previous five starts. Phil Giesbrecht will be in the bike, and he is quickly approaching 100 wins on the year.

My Picks: 4-2-1

RACE 11: ABSS SUPER FINALS THREE-YEAR-OLD FILLIES – $75,000

1. My Little Chloe (12-1)
2. Cenalta Token (30-1)
3. Outlawabovenbeyond (6-1)
4. You Promyst (7-2)
5. Nonversation (20-1)
6. G Ts Skyla (1-1)
7. Caviar N Crackers (15-1)
8. Riskofthunderstorm (20-1)
9. Beep Bop A Lula (10-1)

G Ts Skyla (Mystician) suffered her third and worst loss of the year in the Century Casino Filly Pace. She finished fourth behind Side Piece, Iris Seelster and Moonstruck, who are all not eligible for this event. G Ts Skyla was the toughest three-year-old filly to beat all summer, and until her last start, she had not finished any worse than second place. She has eight wins, and the fastest went in 1:53.2.

You Promyst (Mystician) is another Alberta-bred filly that was trending up but had a disappointing outcome in the Century Casino Filly Pace. Her seventh-place finish ruined a streak of six races where she finished either first or second. During that stretch, she won three races and added a new lifetime mark of 1:54.3. You Promyst bounced back after the Century Casino Filly Pace with a second-place finish last weekend.

If an upset was to happen, watch out for the rail horse, My Little Chloe (Lambretta). She heads into the weekend with morning line odds of 12-1, but she does team up with Doug McNair, and she has had some success this season. Her lifetime mark is 1:54.1, which she achieved at Track On 2 back in July. She has earned four wins this year, and her last one came just a few weeks ago at 42-1! However, she was placed first in that race after the unofficial winner had caused interference at the start of the race.     

My Picks: 6-4-1

RACE 12: ABSS SUPER FINALS THREE-YEAR-OLD COLTS & GELDINGS – $75,000 

1. Blue Star Mercury (2-1)
2. Opulent Dragon (30-1)
3. Over The Horizon (5-2)
4. Catfish Jack (12-1)
5. Mickie Mantle (8-1)
6. The Dickens (20-1)
7. General Custard (15-1)
8. Virtual Horizon (3-1)
9. Tin Can Timmy (20-1)

The hottest three-year-old in Alberta over the last month has to Blue Star Mercury (Mystician). He earned two of the biggest wins of his career in his previous two starts. First was a 1:53.4 mile in the Western Canada Pacing Derby eliminations, and he followed that up with 1:52.3 in the finals! In both races, he beat the very dangerous Virtual Horizon. Blue Star Mercury draws the rail, which he also had in his wire-to-wire victory last time.

Virtual Horizon (Vertical Horizon) spent most of the year not knowing what the backside of another horse looked like, but lately, all he has seen is Blue Star Mercury’s caboose! The winning streak for Virtual Horizon ended at 13 straight before a tough outing in the Western Canada Pacing Derby elimination, where he ultimately finished second. He followed that up with a third place in the final, but he will look to find his way back to the winner’s circle on Saturday.

Over The Horizon (Vertical Horizon) snuck into second place last time out in the Western Canada Pacing Derby. He put in a solid 1:54.1 the week prior in the elimination and picked up his 6th win of the year. He has won three of his last five starts and has a lifetime mark of 1:53.2

My Picks: 1-8-3

Super Final Saturday starts at 6:15 p.m. MDT at Century Mile.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Trey Colbeck, for Harnesslink