Two-year-old stars set to shine bright Saturday at Century Mile

Two-year-old pacers will have another chance to shine in the second leg of the Alberta Sire Stakes this Saturday when harness racing returns to Century Mile. The fillies and the colts both have two splits in their respective divisions.

RACE 6: ABSS STARBURST TWO-YEAR-OLD FILLIES (FIRST DIVISION) – $27,100 

1. Licklips Swinghips (10-1)
2. Im Outrageous Too (2-1)
3. Delta Sunrise (6-1)
4. Foothills Magic (4-1)
5. Cf Birdonawire (8-1)
6. Born A Spy (7-2)
7. Dragon Dancer (12-1)

Born A Spy (Smart Shark) has had a hot start to her racing career and will be looking to get her third win in only five starts. Her lifetime mark is 1:58.0, but she posted a 1:56.2 last week when she finished second place. That level of speed should be enough to get the job done on Saturday, but it won’t be easy. Born A Spy has shown that she can win, wire-to-wire or come off the pace, so she has a few different options on how to attack this race.

Jamie Gray will jump aboard Foothills Magic (Captive Audience) in pursuit of capturing the filly’s second career win. She won at Century Downs in August and paced the mile in 1:59.0. She was able to shave a few seconds off that mile time when she moved onto the bigger Track, but I doubt it will be enough to win. However, I think it’s worth having her included in multi-race bets.

Im Outrageous (Outrageous Art) hasn’t won since she raced at Track On 2 on Aug. 27, and she hasn’t performed her best since making the trip north to Edmonton. Her lifetime mark of 1:55.0 is the fastest of anyone in the field and is likely why she was given the honour of being the morning line favourite. However, I think Born A Spy and Foothills Magic are the better choices.

My Picks: 6-4-2

RACE 7: ABSS STARBURST TWO-YEAR-OLD FILLIES (SECOND DIVISION) – $27,100 

1. Cf Faline (10-1)
2. Eyesoncustard (12-1)
3. Byby Baby Byby (7-2)
4. Saucy Posse (4-1)
5. Outlawguns N Roses (3-5)
6. Severe Turbulence (6-1)
7. Caughtstealinghome (8-1)

Taking the heavy morning line odd favourite, Outlawguns N Roses (Captive Audience), won’t help you get to an earlier retirement but sometimes you have to make the obvious choice. She has three wins in six starts and a lifetime mark of 1:53.2, which she achieved last week at Century Mile. It took her a couple of steps to find her form, but now she has won three of her previous four starts. Outlawguns N Roses likes the front end, but I’d be mindful of her current post position. Her wins have all come from inside post positions, and her lines indicate she hasn’t been able to win from the outside. This race kicks off the Century Mile Pick 5, and I am genuinely tempted to single her in my combination. My only hesitation stems from my concerns about the post position.

The one filly I am tempted to add to my Pick 5 ticket is Byby Baby Byby (Vertical Horizon). She has won back-to-back races heading into Saturday and has a chance to cause the upset on Outlawguns N Roses. However, Byby Baby Byby has yet to race much and has only made two starts over the last month. However, both of those starts were wins, and she paced them in 1:56.3 and 1:57.0. Those times are a bit slower than what Outlawguns N Roses is capable of, but they are better than anything the rest of the field has posted.

Saucey Posse (Custard The Dragon) got her first career win last week and will be making he Alberta Sired Stake debut. She paced the mile in 1:57.3 but has a limited resume, so it is hard to guess what will happen when she mixes in with the rest of the field. She will have the experienced Kelly Hoerdt in the bike, so she should be poised to finish near the top.

My Picks: 5-3-4

RACE 9: ABSS LONE STAR TWO-YEAR-OLD COLTS AND GELDINGS (FIRST DIVISION) -$27,100 

1. Sharkasaurus (7-2)
2. Vertical (10-1)
3. Come On Santana (4-5)
4. Matteuse (6-1)
5. Blueline Bruiser (12-1)
6. Hf Winknat Shadows (4-1)
7. Rememberthecustard (8-1)

Come On Santana (Santanna Blue Chip) is as hot as they come with his three-race win streak heading into this one. His lifetime mark of 1:55.4 came in his Century Casino Pace victory at Track On 2. He followed that up with a 1:58.0 in his first start at Century Mile. His starts are spread out, but that is an advantage for him, and he heads into this one with 14 days of rest. He should be primed and ready to go.

It has been some time since Sharkasaurus (Prince Sharka) has had a picture taken in the winner’s circle, but he did finish third place his last time out. He finished just behind Come On Santana and Tzilacatzin, who is in the second division. His only win was in the Norm Kennedy Memorial, and he paced that mile in 1:59.3. Drawing the rail will surely be a decent size advantage for him.

Rememberthecustard (Custard The Dragon) is coming off his first career win last week. He paced the mile in 1:59.2, which is on par with most of the field. I like this colt because it will add some value to my wagers. He definitely can sneak into the top three and give you a nice payday. He did win at 22-1 last weekend and could have similar odds at post-time on Saturday.

My Picks: 3-1-7

RACE 10: ABSS LONE STAR TWO-YEAR-OLD COLTS AND GELDINGS (SECOND DIVISION) – $27,100 

1. Hf Winknat Jenna (4-1)
2. Tzilacatzin (7-2)
3. Grey Horizon (4-5)
4. Cenalta Gunfire (12-1)
5. One More Rocky (6-1)
6. Nevada Dragon (10-1)
7. Shark Attack (8-1)

Don’t worry; your computer isn’t broken because I am actually taking Tzilacatzin (Captive Audience) to upset Grey Horizon. Tzilacatzin has yet to win in three starts, but he has two second-place finishes, and his last one was just behind Come On Santana. It was charted as a 1:58.3 mile, which is not far off what Grey Horizon has been doing lately. Wawanesa, Manitoba’s finest, Chris Brown, will also be in the bike, which makes this a slam dunk pick for me.

I will include Grey Horizon (Vertical Horizon) on all my multi-race wagers as a safety net, but he will be my second choice in this race. He has four wins in five starts and never finished worse than second place in that time. His lifetime mark is 1:57.0, and he paced his first victory at Century Mile in 1:58.1.

Hf Winknat Jenna (Wink N Atcha) starts on the rail, which will be his opportunity to get into a good spot for the race. After looking at his lines, you will notice that he doesn’t do well coming off the pace and the one time he took the early lead. Hf Winknat Jenna ended up in second place, losing by a neck to Grey Horizon. He will for sure be in the mix on Saturday.

My Picks: 2-3-1

Century Mile’s Saturday card kicks off at 5:15 p.m. MDT.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Trey Colbeck, for Harnesslink