ABSS Diamond headlines Saturday card at Century Downs

The first stake final for Alberta’s sired-three-year-old harness racing fillies is on Saturday (May 25) at Century Downs. $56,900 is up for grabs in the ABSS Alberta Diamond Final which is the 11th race on the card. A field of nine fillies made their way through last week’s eliminations and they will look to add a potential big win to their resumes. 

The full field is as follows:

1. Saucy Posse – Kelly Hoerdt (6-1)
2. Over Ice – Phillip Giesbrecht (5-2)
3. Byby Baby Byby – Michael Hennessy (4-1)
4. Outlawguns N Roses – David Kelly (9-5)
5. Licklips Swinghips – Loga Gillis (10-1)
6. Caughtstealinghome – Jamie Gray (15-1)
7. Outlawelectricblue – Tyson Jacoby (12-1)
8. Lumby Dragon – Scott Knight (10-1)
9. Oye Como Va – Nathan Sobey (8-1)

The morning line favourite, Outlawguns N Roses (Captive Audience) is coming huge win in the eliminations. She was charted to have won by 12 lengths and paced the mile in 1:53.4. It was her sixth career win and she remains perfect in two starts this year. She has already earned over $104,000 in 11 appearances. Outlawguns N Roses was one of the toughest two-year-old fillies last year and just fell short of winning the Super Final. Her lifetime mark of 1:53.2 was achieved at Century Mile last year and she almost matched that last week. The Rodney Starkewski-trained filly will be a tough out for most of the summer as the Alberta stake season continues. 

OUTLAWGUNS N ROSES REPLAY

Over Ice (Custard The Dragon) won the first elimination in a slightly faster 1:53.3. This was her first start in Alberta as she had been racing at Fraser Downs exclusively beforehand.

She was perfect in five starts during her rookie campaign and capped it off with a B.C. Bred Finals win. Over Ice opened her 2024 season with a second-place finish in the Penny Bath Memorial at Fraser Downs and then followed that up with her win last week. Brandon Campbell has been training the filly since she moved to Alberta. 

OVER ICE REPLAY

The slowest elimination of the three eliminations was won by Saucy Posse (Custard The Dragon) in 1:56.3. It was her first win of the year and only the second of her career. Although it was the slowest elimination, it was good enough to be Saucy Posse’s career best. In nine career starts, she has finished in the top three on four occasions. Kelly Hoerdt trains and will be in the bike on Saturday. 

SAUCY POSSE REPLAY 

Although she did not win her elimination, Byby Baby Byby (Vertical Horizon) has earned 4-1 morning line odds and sits as the third favourite. She did finish second just behind Over Ice but her record during her rookie season showed a level of quality. She won four of her eight starts last year and only finished outside the top three once. Byby Baby Byby achieved a lifetime mark of 1:52.2 at Century Mile and she would go on to win the ABSS Super Final in 1:54.3. 

BYBY BABY BYBY REPLAY

My Picks:

Over Ice (2)- Outlawguns N Roses (4) – Byby Baby Byby (3) – Saucy Posse (1)

Also on the card, is the first elimination of the ABSS Alberta Marksman for three-year-old colts & geldings. Unfortunately, it was deemed a no-contest last week due to Wrangler Treasure falling early on in the race. He does not draw back in this week but the other seven pacers will. Kelly Hoerdt was also involved in the accident but seems to be alright as he is slated to drive over the weekend at Century Downs. The finals for the colts & geldings have been pushed back to next week. 

A free program for the entire card can be found here.

The first race kicks off at 2:45 p.m. EST.

For the complete race entries, click here.

by Trey Colbeck, for Harnesslink