Before Saturday's $54,800 Alberta Sires Stakes Marksman at Century Downs, both Tzilacatzin (Captive Audience) and driver Chris Brown had no wins for the year. However, the duo erased their goose eggs with a flawless trip to spring a 26-1 harness racing upset.
In a :28.2 opening panel, One Hot Minute (Brandon Campbell) grabbed the front, but Brown found the pocket with the horse. Phil Giesbrecht's Come On Santana, the team's favorite, defeated the leader in a brutal first-over slog, finishing the half in :57.3 and the three-quarters in 1:25.2.
Come On Santana entered the last bend, she started to falter, and One Hot Minute pulled ahead of the field by three lengths entering the stretch. Even faster out of the pocket, though, was Tzilacatzin, who moved quickly up to the leader as they got closer to the wire. Tzilacatzin was victorious in 1:54.4, narrowly defeating One Hot Minute in the end.
A game second was One Hot Minute. Nathan Sobey's Matteuse came through with a second-over cover to take third.
Brown's protégé Tzilacatzin had a difficult start to the season before her form started to improve in the last few weeks. She was eighth in her start before Saturday's victory, but she was third in three of her previous appearances last month, including the Marksman elimination. As of right now, Jennifer Clark, the owner and breeder, has earned $42,435 from her two-for-15 lifetime record.
Brown was 0-for-43 on the bike and 0-for-30 as a trainer heading into the competition. Since making his debut in 2011, he has driven 34 career victories in 734 starts. His performance in training is 46 for 743.
In the afternoon's Preferred, Icy Blue Scooter (Blue Burner, Nathan Sobey) orchestrated a personal upset. In 1:52.4, he emerged victorious after battling against Whiplash Smile (Thomas Miller) during the quarter, Samba Beat (Giesbrecht) on the backstretch, and Bonus Round (Dave Kelly) in the final sprint. Bonus Round defeated Samba Beat to take second place. The amount won was $20.10.