Top Alberta horses battle in $300,000 ABSS Super Finals

Harness racing was in the spotlight in Calgary as Century Downs hosted the Alberta Sires Stakes Super Finals, and the spectators were not left feeling disappointed.

$75,000 was on the line for the Super finals and $15,000 for each of the consolation races.

The day first started with a bang as driver Michael Hennessy completed the natural hattrick and won the first three races. The last two of those races were consolations for the ABSS Super Final.

In the first consolation of the day, Hennessy teamed up with Wine Thirty (Vertical Horizon), and the duo finished the mile in the time of 1:55.1. They were trailed by You Can Have Itall and Jamie Gray.

Hennessy did it again in the two-year-old filly consolation with Shes A Tinker (Vertical Horizon). The young filly won her second race in her short career and set a new lifetime mark at the time of 1:57.3.

The first race of the day not won by Hennessy came in the fourth race which was the consolation for the two-year-old colts & geldings division. General Custard (Custard the Dragon) picked up his first win in only his third lifetime start. HF Pans Shadow finished second and One Major Hottie finished just behind in third.

Salary (Mystician) alongside her driver, Logan Gillis, won the 3-year-old fillies’ consolation in the time of 1:55.2. She was only two-fifths of a second slower than her lifetime mark of 1:55.0.

The first of four finals of the afternoon was for two-year-old fillies and going into this race the morning line favourite, Promise Kept was an easy choice for most bettors. She had won four of her five lifetime starts but she fell short in this one ultimately finishing second. The trophy in this one went to Cora Cora Cora (Captive Audience). Jamie Gray trains and drove the winning filly in a mile that matched her lifetime mark of 1:56.3.

Brandon Campbell picked up his only Finals win of the day as a trainer and a driver in the two-year-old colts and geldings division with his entrant Virtual Horizon (Vertical Horizon). This was the third win in six starts and he broke his lifetime record time by a whole second with a mile time of 1:55.0.

Divine Art (Outrageous Art) has the most convincing win of the afternoon when she and Nathan Sobey won the three-year-old ABSS Finals. She captured her tenth lifetime win in the time of 1:55.0. The battle was on for second place as Brandon Campbell and Jamaica Move just beat out Goodbye Ceia Later and Jean Francois Gagne. There was a minor accident during the stretch drive in this race. Proud Of My Roots had fallen during the race but she and driver David Kelly both left the track on their own.

The last finals of the day were for the three-year-old colt and gelding division another lifetime mark was set in this one. Ernesto Delacruz (Vertical Horizon) paced the mile in a speedy 1:52.4 with trainer Jean Francois Gagne in the sulky. Vegas Gambler (Mystery Chase) finished second for now the third time in a row. Nathan Sobey and Matts A Mystician (Mystician) found their way onto the trifecta ticket which now makes it seven top three finishes in his first eleven races.

The wins were split up fairly evenly on the day as eight different drivers registered a win. The most on the day were by Hennessy with three and just behind was Jamie Gray with two. Seven other drivers finished the day with one win a piece.

Century Downs continues racing next Friday and Saturday at 1:15 pm Mountain time.