EDMONTON, Alberta (CMC) — Reigning champion Dane Nelson nailed the feature CAD$50,000 ($5.6-million) RedTail Landing Handicap with favourite Missczech as he came away from the nine-race programme at Century Mile with a double on Friday.

Astride the five-year-old mare in a six-furlong sprint in race seven, the Jamaican produced a clinical ride to reach the wire two-and-three-quarter lengths clear in a time of one 1:08.73 minutes.

Nelson followed up in race eight with 2-1 choice Don’t Let Me Down, guiding the four-year-old to a one-and-a-half-length score to notch his second win of the evening.

He has logged seven wins from 35 mounts for the season which got underway May 4 and wraps up September 14, and is four adrift of leader Jose Mariano Asencio. Trinidadian Keihton Natera and Barbadian Kyle Carter are also there with Nelson on seven wins.

Nelson, 40, missed out in races four, five and six but finally came good when he combined with Missczech to dismiss the three-year-old and upward fillies and mares.

They duelled with 13-1 choice Pretty Aria — ridden by Barbadian N’Rico Prescod — before grabbing the lead leaving the backstretch, putting away their challenger and storming to the wire strongly.

Nelson’s second win came in contrasting fashion, this time bringing
Don’t Let Me Down with a late run to get the better of the three-year-olds and upward in another six-furlong sprint.

Eleven-to-one chance Simply Wicked, 4-1 bet Bratton, 13-1 choice
Perdition, and 7-1 bet Frostedbird all battled through the half-mile before Nelson brought Don’t Let Me Down through traffic to outrun the leaders.

There were also wins for Trinidadian Andrew Poon who took race six over six furlongs with favourite Sir Bergovic, and Prescod who paired with 2-1 chance
Majestic Oops to beat the three-year-old and upward fillies and mares in race nine, also over six furlongs.