Harness racing driver Pascal Berube started the 2023 opening day at Hippodrome 3R in Trois-Rivieres, Que. the same way he ended the race meet in 2022: winning.
And by the end of the afternoon on Sunday, April 30, Berube had earned his 3,000th career win.
Rain had ended before the start of the race card, but the track was still listed as sloppy with a time allowance by the judges.
Berube, 50, of Portneuf, Que., started off opening day at 3R by winning the very first race with favourite Hooter Shooter, a 10-year-old Badlands Hanover gelding, for trainer/owner Marc-Andre Simoneau. They took the lead after the first quarter and opened up 4-3/4 lengths to win in 2:02.
This was win No. 2,999. Just one more needed for Berube to reach the milestone, and eight races to go.
“I was very excited to win the first race of the year at H3R,” said Berube. “It was a good way to start the day.”
Race fans knew Berube was gunning for his 3,000th win, so they bet him down to 1-5 in the second race with Ladycorona, but she finished third.
Berube was not in the hunt for the next three races and then he had Goldinthebadlands in the sixth race pace who was wagered down to 1-9. They were parked out from the start of the race and finally cleared to the lead as they came down the stretch only to be caught at the wire by 41-1 upsetter P L Gyro and Francis Picard by a quarter of a length in 2:01.
Next up was the seventh race Preferred Trot and Berube had another big favourite to drive, Stella Alpha. She was an 11-race winner last year and set a 3R track record for Berube. This looked to be the milestone winner.
But it didn’t work out that way.
Stella Alpha and Berube went off as the 2-5 race favourites and worked their way to the lead over Morally Flexible and Stephane Brosseau after a :29.4 first quarter. A R Hercule and owner/trainer/driver Jean-Paul Rousse were also stuck on the outside and they came after Stella Alpha, pressing the mare to the half-mile in :59 where A R Hercule actually had the lead on the outside, but Berube would not let them clear to the front.
Rousse kept the pressure on with A R Hercule down the backstretch, again on the lead on the outside at the three-quarters in 1:29.3, but Berube would not let them clear by Stella Alpha. And all the while, 2-1 second choice Morally Flexible was boxed in along the pylons in third place.
As they started down the stretch, Brosseau had clearance to pull out as A R Hercule could no longer keep up. Poor Stella Alpha was just holding on and all it took was a :32.4 last quarter for Morally Flexible to beat Stella Alpha to the wire by one length in 2:02.3 for owner/trainer Daniel Theroux.
Berube was denied win No. 3,000 once again.
Next came the eighth race Preferred Pace and Berube was driving Delicate Sound, a the season-debuting four-year-old State Treasurer gelding, who went off as the 6-5 favourite for the Simoneau stable and owner Aurel Harvey Et Fils Inc.
Berube took no chances and sent Delicate Sound right to the lead through fractions of :29 and 1:00.2, but once again was challenged on the outside, this time by D Gs De Vito and Jonathan Lachance who were first-over a head away from the lead at three-quarters in 1:29.2.
But this time Berube had some power between the shafts of his racebike as Delicate Sound dug in and shook off D Gs De Vito to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:59.1.
Berube celebrated his 3,000th career victory.
“I was still happy with the effort provided by my two horses with whom I thought I would win and who finished second,” said Berube. “But I still had my horse in the eighth race whom I trusted. He was my Joker in case of not having done it before him.
“As I had said before, for me personally, it’s a milestone to which I am proud to [achieve]."
Berube is coming off his best season ever in 2022 when he topped the million-dollar earnings mark with 206 wins, 163 seconds and 132 third-place finishes from 877 starts. His UDRS last year was 0.388.
By the end of the race card, both Berube, Francis Picard and Stephane Brosseau scored driving doubles.
Hippodrome 3R is currently featuring live harness racing on Sundays at 12 noon.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Hippodrome 3R.
(With files from Quebec Jockey Club)