Shark Week strikes first at Century Downs

Shark Week (Vertical Horizon), Alberta’s 2022 Champion Aged Horse, won the first feature of the harness racing season at Century Downs on Saturday’s (Mar. 11) opening day card.

Michael Hennessy applied front-stepping tactics with the gelding, and the pair cut :28.4 and :59.2 first-half splits. Redstone Arsenal was the first out of line at the half and ranged up at three-quarters in 1:29, but Shark Week easily turned him away and sprinted home a one-and-three-quarter-length winner in 1:57.2. Armycaptin Hanover (Kelly Hoerdt), one of Alberta’s best Free For Allers, finished second. Sunshine Boy (Brandon Campbell) was third.

SHARK WEEK REPLAY

Shark Week won seven straight Preferred races from Oct. 8 to Jan. 7 across two Century tracks and was victorious in nine total last year. His accomplishments earned him the Champion Aged Horse title at the Alberta Standardbred Horse Association awards, and he tied with Codename Cigar Box for the fastest male horse. Rodney Hennessy trains and co-owns the gelding with Lorne Duffield of Edmonton. The five-year-old is 23-for-55 lifetime with earnings of $222,975.

Cheese Whiz (Betterthancheddar, Hoerdt) took the Fillies and Mares Preferred-2 Handicap later on the card. She seized command in the third quarter and fended off top mare rivals down the stretch to score in 1:59.3. Betcha Baby (Campbell) was three-quarters of a length behind with Saphire Blue third. Cheese Whiz, trained by campbell for Raymond Henry, now shows a record of 10 wins and $71,362 in earnings in 64 outings.

CHEESE WHIZ REPLAY

The drivers’ title race started in competitive fashion with three drivers taking two wins each and four solo winners.

Century Downs will race once weekly on Saturdays at 1:15 p.m. MDT until May, when it will add Fridays at 5:15 p.m.. This schedule will continue until Aug. 18.

For complete race results, click here.

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink