We can easily guess the excitement of the organizers and hosts François Carignan, Guy Lafontaine and Sophie Mongeon approaching Quebec’s Gala des Champions, taking place tonight (April 8) at Hippodrome 3R.
Organizing such an event requires know-how (and these people have it) and hosting it is always a challenge. Some winners are already known, but there will be a lot of suspense for several important awards this evening. Here's wishing all the nominees, win or lose, have very good moments.
Pascal and Sylvain
For a second consecutive year, there is no suspense regarding the champion driver and the champion trainer. Pascal Bérubé and Sylvain Tremblay are the lucky recipients of these coveted trophies following a remarkable season in 2022.
By design, the organizers wanted to give them the title of winners, without unnecessary nominations. Here, if you have the greatest number of victories in your field, you are crowned champion. And that's what will happen tonight.
The duo is also often reunited on track, with Pascal being the official driver of Sylvain and the Alpha Team. The two make the pair and their combined successes are not denied. It is a good combination for both, especially in the case of a stable like Sylvain's with lots of young horses every year as it’s important for him to have chemistry with his driver to allow the youngsters to progress..
All other categories have nominations and winners to be announced. Here they are:
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Honourable Mentions: Jean-François Gauthier, Michel Lagacé, Marc-André Pilon
Nominated: Mario G. Lachance, Kiwon Waldron
GROOM OF THE YEAR
Honourable Mentions: Karol-Ann Landry, Sabrina Lord-Bédard, Léonie Maguire, Marie-Pier Paquin, Sabrina Pelletier
Nominated: Valérie Gélinas & Léa Thibeault, Jessica Théroux
BREEDER OF THE YEAR
Honourable Mentions: Claude Hamel, Ecuries Maguire
Nominated: Bruno Lepage, Jérôme Lombart
TROTTER OF THE YEAR
Honourable Mentions: Bonfire Bash, Dart Guy
Nominated: Cleveland Massimo, Stella Alpha
PACER OF THE YEAR
Honourable Mentions: La Petite Grise, Macho Polo, Siddhartha, Spectrum Seelster, Windsun Cheyenne
Nominated: Enchanted Story, Platinum Alpha
EVENT OF THE YEAR
Nominated: 102 victories of Pascal Bérubé; Radio broadcast at 91.9; Quebec Finals Day (Sept. 11, 2022); DGs De Vito pacing in 1.52.1; Quebec / Eastern Ontario Regional Driving Championship
OWNER GROUP OF THE YEAR:
Honourable Mentions: Magfly Group; Alpha Stable
Nominated: Royal Pearl Stable; Desjardins Noreau Stable
The Gala des Champions takes place tonight at 3R, with the event starting at 5 pm.
(with files from the Quebec Jockey Club)