Harness News Update: Picks & Analysis for Century Downs June 15th

There are two Breeders’ Stake Finals for Alberta foal three-year-old harness racing horses are featured this Saturday (June 15) at Century Downs. The notable wagers are the Pick 5, which kicks off the card in race one and the $1 minimum Pick 4 which starts in the eighth.

A free program can be found here.

Three-year-old Alberta-foaled fillies will compete in the Shirley McClellan Breeders’ Stake Final in race seven. There was no need for eliminations with only eight entries.

The field for the $118,000 Shirley McClellan Breeders’ Stake is as follows:

1. Oye Como Va – Nathan Sobey (6-1)
2. Sandras Mystery – Brandon Campbell (8-1)
3. Byby Baby Byby – Michael Hennessy (4-1)
4. Y V Larceny – Logan Gillis (30-1)
5. Licklips Swinghips – Kelly Hoerdt (15-1)
6. Outlawguns N Roses – David Kelly (1-9)
7. Foothills Magic – Phillip Giesbrecht (20-1)
8. Caughtstealinghome – Jamie Gray (10-1)

Outlawguns N Roses (Captive Audience) is rolling right now and deserves to be the heavy 1-9 morning line favourite. She is perfect in three starts this year and is coming off a career-best 1:52.4 mile in the ABSS Diamond Final.  The hot start to the new season is not overly surprising as she had a pretty good rookie campaign. Outlawguns N Roses won four of her nine starts last year and finished in the top two in seven appearances. Strangely enough, she has never finished third in her career. She is one of two Rodney Starkewski-trained fillies entered and David Kelly will be in the sulky.

OUTLAWSGUNS N ROSES REPLAY

Byby Baby Byby (Vertical Horizon) will look to play spoiler again as she has beaten Outlawguns N Roses before. Her best finish this year was a second-place finish in the ABSS Diamond eliminations and she followed that up with a third in the finals. However, Byby Baby Byby is no stranger to winning as she is the reigning Two-year-old Filly ABSS Super Final champion.

She finished her rookie year with four wins in seven starts and only finished outside the top three once in that time. The Rodney Hennessy trained filly has a lifetime mark of 1:52.2 which she achieved at Century Mile. All of her wins have come on full mile tracks and she has yet to win at Century Downs. Michael Hennessy will be in the bike and look to change that fact on Saturday.

BYBY BABY BYBY REPLAY

Another filly looking to play upset is Oye Como Va (Santanna Blue Chip). She went winless in three starts last year but has bounced back this year. She has already made two trips to the winner’s circle and only finished outside the top three twice in eight appearances. Oye Como Va will likely need to outdo her 1:55.4 lifetime if she wants to win but Nathan Sobey will be doing his best to put her in the right spot.

OYE COMO VA REPLAY

 

My Picks: Outlawguns N Roses (6) – Oye Coma Va (1) – Byby Baby Byby (3) – Sandras Mystery (2)

The boys have their turn in race ten to compete in the Moore’s Mile Breeders’ Stake Final. There was two eliminations of five last week and one horse was eliminated to make the final field of nine.

The field for the $90,000 Moore’s Mile Breeders’ Stake is as follows:

1. Grey Horizon – Brandon Campbell (2-1)
2. Tzilacatzin – Christopher Brown (10-1)
3. Nevado Dragon – Phillip Giesbrecht (12-1)
4. Carro P Picasso – Logan Gillis (20-1)
5. Come On Santana – David Kelly (6-1)
6. Rum N Custard – Kelly Hoerdt (4-1)
7. One Hot Minute – Michael Hennessy (7-2)
8. Matteuse – Nathan Sobey (10-1)
9. Yyc On The Horizon – Jamie Gray (8-1)

The official first elimination winner was Rum N Custard (Custard The Dragon) but it was only due to the judge’s placement because Grey Horizon committed a pylon violation. A win is still a win and the 1:54.3 time is good enough to be a new lifetime mark. He never raced as a two-year-old, but he’s done really well this year. Rum N Custard has two wins in six starts and has finished outside the top three only once. It’s highly doubtful another pylon violation will happen again so Kelly Hoerdt will need to put the pressure on for Rum N Custard to get another win.

RUM N CUSTARD REPLAY (ELIMINATION ONE)

The other elimination winner, Yyc On The Horizon (Vertical Horizon) will look to repeat after winning last week as a 16-1 longshot. He had never won nor finished in the top three before his win. He paced the mile in 1:56.2 and closed the race out in 29.1. Jamie Gray trains and also handles driving duties.

YYC ON THE HORIZON REPLAY (ELIMINATION TWO)

Grey Horizon (Vertical Horizon) would have won easily last week but unfortunately, the judge’s decision bumped him to second. He only has one win this year after having a stellar 2023. He won five races during his eight rookie starts and never finished worse than second place. Grey Horizon’s only win this year was in his seasonal debut and he paced the mile in 1:55. However his lines show he can go faster if needed.

GREY HORIZON REPLAY

With a huge 26-1 upset in the ABSS Marksman final in the review mirror for Tzlicatzin (Captive Audience), he will be looking to do the same once again. If he can pull off a mile similar to his 1:54.4 lifetime mark, he will be tough to beat. Tzilacatzin only has two wins in 16 career starts but he finds a way to be near the top. He is definitely one to consider if you are looking for a potential price.

TZILACATZIN REPLAY

My Picks: Grey Horizon (1) – Tzilacatzin (2) – One Hot Minute (7) – Rum N Custard (6)

My Picks

Race 1

Severe Turbulence (3)

Delta Sunrise (2)

Lac La Biche (1)

 

Race 2

Western Drawl (1)

Shes Like The Wind (2)

Blue Star Sapphire (5)

 

Race 3

Despicable Moi (2)

Alpine Billy (3)

Promising Shadow (1)

 

Race 4

Sassy Libby (4)

Heads Up Boys (1)

Outlaw Endofanera (6)

 

Race 5

Outlaw Blue Isle (4)

Two Fingers Gold (2)

Diva Amour (7)

 

Pick 5

3,2,1/1,2,5,6/2,3,1,5/4/ 4,2,7 = $28.40

 

Race 6

Ima Beach Diva (2)

Skys Little Spunk (3)

You Promyst (4)

 

Race 7 : $118,000 Shirley McClellan Breeders’ Stake – Three-year-old Fillies Final

Outlawguns N Roses (6)

Oye Coma Va (1)

Byby Baby Byby (3)

Sandras Mystery (2)

 

Race 8

Stash The Cookies (3)

In High Cotton (2)

If Only Id Known (1)

 

Race 9

Yenoh Who (4)

Midnight Mover (3)

Agricola (8)

 

Race 10: $90,000 Moore’s Mile Breeders’ Stake – Three-year-old Colts & Geldings Final

Grey Horizon (1)

 Tzilacatzin (2)

One Hot Minute (7)

Rum N Custard (6)

 

Race 11

Outlaw Spiced Rum (3)

Outlawabovenbeyond (2)

Jamaica Move (6)

 

Pick 4

3,2,1,5/4/1,2,7/3,2 = $24

 

For more on both Breeders’ Stake Finals, watch the latest episode of Harness News Update.

The first race kicks off at 4:15 p.m. EST.

by Trey Colbeck, for Harnesslink