‘Samba’ beats Preferred opponents

Samba Beat (Santanna Blue Chip) went wire-to-wire to earn his second Preferred victory of the year in the top-class harness racing event at Century Downs on Saturday (Jun. 22).

The Gerry Hudon-trained stallion pulled to the lead in a :27.1 first quarter, and Phil Giesbrecht kept him going at a solid clip to the half in :55.2. Bonus Round (Dave Kelly) pulled the pocket coming onto the backstretch, and the odds-on favourite pressed the leader to three-quarters in 1:23.4.

Samba Beat battled back, picking up two-lengths on the final turn, and he held Bonus Round to marginal gains while closing out the victory in 1:52.

Bonus Round was short by a length-and-a-half. Icy Blue Scooter (Nathan Sobey) finished third.

SAMBA BEAT REPLAY

Samba Beat has now won 20 of 81 lifetime starts and has complied a bankroll of $222,876. He has been racing at the Preferred level in Alberta since he turned four and is two-for-eight at the top level this year. Hudon co-owns the six-year-old with Monica Hudon and William Andrew of Calgary.

Century Downs will resume racing on Friday, Jun. 28.

For complete race results, click here.

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink