Hippodrome 3R featured its first Friday twilight racing card on June 9 with nine races and driver Jocelyn “The Showman” Gendron stole the show, winning five including the Preferred Pace.
The featured $5,000 Preferred started off with the race favourite, Manhattan Joe (Pascal Berube), who was going for his fourth straight win, making a costly break at the start. That enabled Windsun Cheyenne (Jimmy Gagnon) to take the early lead from the inside and stuff Mickeymaksomespeed with Gendron into the two-hole spot by the first quarter in :27.3.
Windsun Cheyenne headed to the half-mile marker in :57.3 while Proberts Legacy (Marie-Claude Auger) went first-over to challenge. In the backstretch, Proberts Legacy kept gaining on Windsun Cheyenne, so Gendron pulled from the pocket with Mickeymaksomespeed to follow the outside flow.
At the three-quarters in 1:27, Proberts Legacy cleared to the lead, leaving Mickeymaksomespeed first-over with Siddhartha (Stephane Brosseau) sweeping three-wide on the final turn. As the three horses started down the stretch, Proberts Legacy began to fade while Mickeymaksomespeed still had enough stamina to hold off Siddhartha and win by a neck in 1:56.3. Spectrum Seelster (Francis Picard) finished third.
The win was the first in five starts this year for Mickeymaksomespeed (pictured above). The homebred six-year-old son of Mickey Hanover is owned and trained by Michel Allard of Saint Espirit, Que. He paid $5 to win.
Gendron became the first driver of the 3R season to win five races on a single program. No one had yet to win even four races on a program.
He teamed up with Allard for another victory with Ys Sensationalcity ($4.20) -- his first of five consecutive winning drives. Gendron also drove winners P C Heisenberg ($9.90) for trainer Mario Dumas, Dont Treat Me Bad ($4.30) for Herve Kirouac and Heavenly Evelyn ($12.20) for Martine Biron.
In the $4,000 Preferred Trot, it was all Frido PV and driver Jonathan Lachance. They shot right to the front and held the field at bay through fractions of :29.1, :59.4 and 1:29.1 before pulling away in the stretch to win by four open lengths in 1:59. Morally Flexible (Stephane Brosseau) was second with Fix A Drink (Marie-Claude Auger) third.
The win was the third in four starts this year for Frido PV. The six-year-old son of Muscle Mass is trained by Yves St Jacques for owner/breeder Marcel Brouillard of St-Marcel-De-Richelieu, Que. The heavy favourite paid $2.50 to win.
Live harness racing resumes on Sunday, June 11 with the first stakes races of the 2023 season at 3R. The opening round of the Quebec-Bred Series for older pacers features two $6,500 divisions for the mares and one division for the horses with Mickeymaksomespeed back in action and facing 6-5 morning line favourite The Light Speed, who is coming off a three-race winning streak in the Preferred at Rideau Carleton Raceway. Platine Alpha and Celia Bayama headline the mares divisions.
Post time on Sunday is 12 noon. For a free race program, visit hippodrome3r.ca.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click the following link: Friday Results - Hippodrome 3R.
(With files from Quebec Jockey Club)