Shark Week lowers track record again for 12 straight

Shark Week (Vertical Horizon) won a 12th consecutive harness racing contest and lowered the overall track record he set a week ago in the Preferred Handicap at Century Mile.

The gelding, handicapped with post six, created a fiery first quarter of :25.4 as he out-muscled Ernesto Delacruz (Jean-Francois Gagne) for the lead. Michael Hennessy gave Shark Week a big breather to the half in :54.4, and the pair were allowed to cruise to three-quarters in 1:23.3.

Shark Week and Ernesto Delacruz streaked away from their four opponents, making it a match race down the stretch. Ernesto Delacruz was in an all-out drive but could not touch the speedy Shark Week, who stormed home to win under mild urging in 1:50.2.

Ernesto Delacruz was a length-and-a-quarter back at the finish. Samba Beat (Phil Giesbrecht) edged out Icy Blue Scooter (Nathan Sobey) late for third.

SHARK WEEK REPLAY

The 1:50.2 time rewrote the track record Shark Week broke a week prior. The five-year-old became the first horse to break the 1:50 barrier in Western Canada earlier in the year and now holds the all-age record at both Century properties in Alberta. The gelding, trained by Rodney Hennessy, has now won 12 consecutive races at the Preferred level and is 37-for-71 lifetime with $320,475 in earnings. Rodney Hennessy co-owns him with Lorne Duffeld of Edmonton.

The Preferred was an undercard contest to the Western Canada Pacing Derby and Century Casino Filly Pace. To read about those events and the Rocky Mountain Boys and Brad Gunn stakes, click here.

For complete race results, click here.

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink