Shark Week (Vertical Horizon) continued his impressive streak in the Preferred race at Century Downs on Saturday, July 27, securing his third consecutive harness racing victory and his remarkable achievement of 20 wins in his last 21 starts.
The gelding showcased his usual prowess, taking control of the race from the outset with a commanding lead. Driver Mike Hennessy set early fractions of :27.1, :56, and 1:24.3 before allowing Shark Week to pull away into the final turn. The horse accelerated to a four-length lead and extended it further down the stretch, crossing the finish line with a dominant five-and-a-quarter-length advantage in a time of 1:51.3. Samba Beat (driven by Phil Giesbrecht) claimed second place, while Sunshine Boy (Brandon Campbell) finished third.
Shark Week has made history by breaking all-age records at both of Century Downs', tracks and is the first horse in Western Canada to clock under 1:50 during his extraordinary 17-race win streak from 2023 to 2024. Although that streak ended on April 27, he returned in July to win three more consecutive races. Trained by Rodney Hennessy, he is co-owned with Lorne Duffield of Edmonton. Shark Week has now achieved a remarkable 45 wins and accumulated $382,725 in earnings over 80 career races.
In the sub-featured Preferred-2 event, Rockin Roller (Domitian Hanover) made a splash, sailing to victory by an impressive 11-and-three-quarter-lengths, finishing in 1:52.4. Campbell both drove and trained the gelding, marking his second win of the season in eight starts. This was Rockin Roller’s first victory at the Preferred level and his 13th overall in 46 career efforts. The five-year-old was leased by Campbell and Jodi Loftus from Gilles Gobeil and Sandra Williams.
On the same day, drivers Campbell and Kelly Hoerdt each secured three driving wins, with Hoerdt training all his successful horses.
Century Downs is set to enter its final month of racing for the year with its next card on Friday, August 2.