Shark Week’s place in history

Western Canadian harness racing history was altered by the always dangerous Shark Week (Vertical Horizon) for two consecutive weeks.

The five-year-old pacer set a new all-time best mile time at Century Downs of 1:50.1 on May 27. The consensus among many analysts was this feat was not only the fastest mile time at Century Downs but possibly the fastest time in western Canada.

SHARK WEEK MAY 27 REPLAY

Tajma Hall paced a 1:50.3 mile at the old Northland Park in 2008, and Redstone Arsenal matched that time at Fraser Downs in Surrey, British Columbia, late last year. The now inactive Alberta Downs all-time best was 1:50.2, achieved in 2010 by Clintons Escape. So, it would stand to reason that the 1:50.1 time is all time Western Canadian record.

However, before that could sink in, Shark Week did something even more unthinkable. Seven days later, Shark Week paced a great mile in 1:49.2, undoubtedly the all-time regional best. The unbelievable mile was even better than his sire, Vertical Horizon’s personal best of 1:49.3.

SHARK WEEK JUNE 3 REPLAY 

Western Canada can now proudly boast a sub 1:50 time, and it came from an Albertan-produced horse with a proud Albertan in the bike.

Michael Hennessy is that proud Albertan who was in the sulky and got the best seat in the house for both miles. He has been teamed up with Shark Week for the most part since the beginning and has seen firsthand how a young talented two-year-old has transformed into a powerhouse of a pacer.

“Early in his career, my dad (Rodney Hennessy) wasn’t even that high on him,” Hennessy said. “Shark Week was always quiet and did his job. He ended up winning races right off the hop.”

Win right off the hop is indeed what Shark Week did. He opened his two-year-old racing career with three straight wins, all in Alberta-sired stake events. His fastest time during his rookie campaign was 1:54.4, which was the fastest mile by a two-year-old at Century Downs until later that card, Hennessy drove another horse slightly faster. He would continue to compete against the other top Alberta sired during his two and three-year-old seasons. Shark Week maintained itself well against its competitors but always fell short in significant events.

Ulcers slowed down his progress at the end of his three-year-old year and continued into the next. Shark Week would rise to his current form late in his four-year-old season. He had nine wins in his last ten starts of 2022. Shark Week was finding his true potential as the wins kept stacking up.

“He’s a super nice horse to drive. People always look at him as if he’s a runaway, but he isn’t at all,” said Hennessy. “He always wants to rock and roll, but once you reign him in, he calms down. He’s not hard to slow down or speed up. He can change speed like a car. He can stop and start as many times as he needs to.”

Leading up to the historical moment, Hennessy knew his teammate was in tip-top shape for the race.

“He felt great and looked better than he had in the weeks leading up,” said Hennessy. “He was feeling strong, and it was nothing to him to get to that opening quarter in 26.2. We kept cruising along to the half, but the three-quarter clock wasn’t working, so I did not know when we hit that mark. I didn’t have to use my whip to that point, and he loves it when I start rocking on the bike a little bit. So, once I started doing that, he started pacing right out of his skin.”

We are now a few days from finishing that incredible race, but it is still hard for many to wrap their heads around. Even Hennessy is having trouble wrapping his mind around it.

“It’s still sinking in that we did this,” Hennessy laughed. “It was an incredible mile. It’s hard to think of how many horses out in Alberta have an opening quarter of 26 seconds and a closing quarter also of 26 seconds. He loves to battle and is a tough horse to race against right now. He always does what he needs to get the job done.”

Hennessy will now have the privilege of being forever molded in history with Shark Week. It will be no different than Secretariat, Ron Turcotte, American Pharoah, and Victor Espinoza but more regionally historic. However, Hennessy does not care too much about that. He is just happy he can share this moment with one particular person.

“It’s pretty awesome. I love that it happened with my dad’s horse, said Hennessy. “He is running on natural talent from my old man’s barn. It’s pretty awesome being the guy who is tagged with him. It’s one thing to stake races and other big races, but somebody else can go and win that next year. This one, nobody can take it away. Shark Week, my dad and I can always share the fact that we were the ones who broke the 1:50 barrier.”

Rodney Hennessy has already had one of the all-time harness racing careers. He has over 2800 lifetime wins as a driver and over other 2100 as a trainer. There are not many events he has not one in Alberta, but this record will surely be one of the brightest feathers in his cap.

There is often animosity in harness racing, but Hennessy has experienced none of that directed at him after. He has felt nothing but the opposite from his peers and the rest of the community.

“I’d like to thank everyone for their overwhelming excitement and support,” Hennessy added. “It has made the experience even more special to go through. It was nice to see everyone pumped after the race.”

This is undoubtedly a time to celebrate Alberta and western Canadian harness racing. The sub 1:50 time barrier has been broken, which now could open the floodgates to even faster mile times. However, it will go down in history that Shark Week was the first to do it.

by Trey Colbeck, for Harnesslink