Brandon Campbell dominated the Saturday (April 29) card at Century Downs, steering three of the four winners on the afternoon's stakes action and totalling six victories from the sulky and five as a trainer.
Cozey Up had the best trip possible in the second of two $7,500 Bev Sears Memorial Stakes eliminations for four-year-old mares and converted off that slick Brandon Campbell steer to earn a new speed badge.
Campbell used his rail position with Cozey Up to get away well, sitting second behind favoured Outlaw What If CC (Logan Gillis) through fractions of :27.2, :56.3 and 1:25.2. That tempo was heated by Rison Star (Redwood), who kept the pressure on the favourite from the opening turn all the way into the stretch drive. Once Rison Star gave way, Cozey Up angled free from the pylons and easily powered past the pressured pacesetter. A :29.1 final stanza provided a two-plus length cushion for the lifetime best 1:55 score over Outlaw What If CC and Rison Star.
Shelly Arsenault of Sherwood Park, Alta. trains and co-owns Cozey Up (Mystery Chase - Cozumel) along with Jason & Tracey Peters of Strathmore, Alta. That's her fifth win from 39 starts with earnings approaching $40,000.
Grey Sea delivered on her 1-5 promise in the first Bev Sears elimination. Making her first start for the Nathan Sobey barn, Grey Sea continued a solid start to her career with her eighth win in 11 lifetime starts.
Sobey settled Grey Sea away in fifth and last during the early going as Lets Go To Vegas (Tyler Redwood) carved out a :28.2 opening quarter and :59.4 half. Sobey right-lined Grey Sea for a wind-assisted backstretch brush and she swooped past her rivals before a 1:27.3 third quarter. Dialmeup (David Kelly) made a bid around the final turn but Grey Sea had more than enough in reserve to repel that rival and sprint home in :28.4 to win by five lengths in 1:56.2. Dialmeup and Suellen Hanover (Phil Giesbrecht) rounded out the top three.
A homebred of Seaspray Stables Ltd. of Nanaimo, B.C., Grey Sea has never finished worse than second in her career. The daughter of Custard The Dragon - Preference — she a full-sister to the Hall of Famer Admirals Express — boasts eight wins and three seconds in her 11 starts with earnings of $37,300.
The $30,000 final of the Bev Sears Memorial, for four-year-old mares who were non-winners of $30,000 as of Dec. 1, 2022, will be contested on Saturday, May 6.
Sharing the stakes spotlight on the Saturday card, two $7,500 eliminations of the Ed Tracy Memorial were also contested with Brandon Campbell capturing both splits.
Kill A Dragon was sent off at 1-5 in the first elim, and the pacer made those odds look modest.
Campbell settled Kill A Dragon away in third as Herd Immunity (Giesbrecht) managed a :28.3 opener and :59.1 half. The fractions didn't play to his favour as Kill A Dragon made his move down the backside in that third panel, zooming to command with a :26 third quarter to trip that third timer in 1:25.4. A five-length margin at the third station widened considerably after that as Kill A Dragon hit the line more than 11 lengths to the good in a career best 1:53.4. Next best was Grampian Road (Mike Hennessy) over early leader Herd Immunity.
Owned by Albertans Jodi Loftus, George Rogers & Dana Shore, Kill A Dragon (Custard The Dragon - Kill A Rockingbord) sports a solid 4-3-0 summary from seven seasonal starts for conditioner Campbell. The win pushed the pacer's lifetime earnings over the $50,000 mark.
Campbell came right back to the winner's circle in the second Tracey elim after engineering a wire-to-wire win with second choice Outlawchippendale.
Leaving from post two, Outlawchippendale was swiftest off the wings and fronted the field through a :28.1 opener and :59.1 half before facing the fierce bid of favoured Blast Of Sunshine. Outlawchippendale held his ground after a sharp 1:26 third quarter and maintained his lead turning for home. A break in stride from Blast Of Sunshine at the head of the lane opened a seam for pocket sitter Kioti (Hennessy) to threaten but Outlawchippendale held on by a neck for the 1:54.2 score.
Loftus, Rogers & Shore also hold the papers on Outlawchippendale (Santanna Blue Chip - Watchasgirlsgoby), who earned a new career mark in his first win of the season and eighth lifetime. His earnings now exceed $32,400.
The $30,000 final of the Ed Tracey Memorial, for four-year-old males who were non-winners of $30,000 as of Dec. 1, 2022, will be also contested on Saturday, May 6.
Campbell's afternoon remained hot after the stakes action. He steered three of his other trainees to victory in overnight company, winning with Virtual Horizon (1:55.2 winning mile; $2.30 to win), Custards Crown (1:56.4; $6.40) and Metaki (1:54.2; $32).
A $14,000 Preferred Pace also went to post with Armycaptin Hanover claiming victory in 1:52.4. The Kelly Hoerdt-trained seven-year-old gelding by Captaintreacherous capitalized off a pocket ride behind pacesetter Whiplash Smile, who clicked splits of :27.1, :56.2 and 1:23.4. Driver Nate Sobey vacated pocket with Armycaptin Hanover in the lane and landed a neck in front at the beam with Ernesto Delacruz closing for third and Crackle N Burn finishing fourth.
Hoerdt co-owns Armycaptin Hanover with Blair Corbeil. The pacer won his 34th race from 114 starts and has now banked $243,216. He paid $10.40 to win.
For the results from Saturday's card of harness racing at Century Downs, click the following link: Saturday Results - Century Downs.