At age 29, Steven Gagnon is one of the youngest harness racing participants in Québec, and his one man show with the pacing mare Kiss Me Bad may help him further his goal in life.
Gagnon hails from Sorel-Tracy, where he grew up with family and relatives that instilled a love of harness racing in him and, perhaps, a career as others have achieved.
"Since my childhood, my father, Daniel Mondou, introduced me to life in a horse racing stable," Gagnon explained. "We had harness racing ponies back then, and I had my chance as a driver when I was 18, thanks to my dad, who bought me a pony to start horse racing.
"From there, I raced the pony horses for six to seven years. And, we decided to try ourselves in the Standardbred pari-mutuel business. We have had these horses for about five to six years."
Gagnon learned his lessons well from his father. He raced on the Québec Regional Fair Circuit and just this year received his professional license as a trainer and driver.
He has also watched and learned about harness racing from his uncle and aunt, Sylvain and Guylaine Gagnon. Also, another uncle in racing, Joël Gagnon, and his son, cousin Jimmy Gagnon — who is also in his rookie year as a professional driver — have all had influence on Steven’s career.
Over the last few years, Gagnon was able to get some catch drives on horses on the Québec Regional Fair Circuit and at Hippodrome 3R.
It can be very tough to get drives in one's rookie year of racing, but Gagnon was fortunate to land a special horse in his stable in 2019 that has brought him into the spotlight at the Hippodrome 3R.
And that mare is none other than Kiss Me Bad.
Now five years old, Kiss Me Bad is sired by Badlands Hanover. The mare has accounted for the majority of wins that Gagnon needed to get his professional license, and she is now helping him show his ability as a trainer and driver.
In fact, of the four races Gagnon has won this season at H3R, three of them have come with Kiss Me Bad.
"Kiss Me Bad was a little mare that I often watched out of the corner of my eye for her beautiful gait and her looks," Gagnon explained. “One good day, I heard that she was for sale, and, at that time, I made an agreement with the owner, Anne-Marie Demers, to purchase her.”
According to Gagnon, "that's when my coaching nightmare started," he laughed.
"To get my mare where she is at today," Gagnon said, "I gave her regular daily training with a stable routine, and special care for each of the little problems that she had ... and then more arose that we had to deal with. But she has gotten better, and this has all contributed to her success so far."
Considering what Gagnon has to take care of his mare, he owns Kiss Me Bad, too. Gagnon does it all while still working a full-time job as an industrial mechanic.
"Yes, I have to work two jobs," Gagnon said. "One as an industrial mechanic and then in between as a trainer-driver, but I always dream of being a full-time driver one day. Who knows what the future holds, but for now I am enjoying the time spent with my mare and my young family."
As for Kiss Me Bad, she has been on a roll as of late for Gagnon. She is on a two-race winning streak in the Preferred class, coming from off the pace, getting parked first-over and still able to grind it out to win for Gagnon. Last week, she tied her lifetime record of 1:56, and has now won three of her last five starts.
Last week was also the first time that Kiss Me Bad went off as the favourite. Her winning performances have now earned her the far outside post eight in Sunday's (Sept. 5) Preferred-Handicap Pace, but she is listed as the morning line favourite once again.
Does being the favourite add pressure to Gagnon?
“Yes, although this puts a little pressure on me,” Gagnon explained. “I never claim victory until the race is over. I prefer to keep my focus and do my job as a driver during the race.”
Growing up with harness racing in the family, most everyone is familiar with the racing great drivers who have hailed from Québec. Many of them followed the same footsteps as Steven Gagnon is doing now, including Herve and Yves Filion, Sylvain Filion and Louis-Philippe Roy.
And during those younger years, who was Steven Gagnon’s favourite driver?
“My favourite driver has always been John Campbell,” Gagnon said. “For his racing wisdom, composure and good hands to lead a horse to victory.”
As for this Sunday at H3R, Steven Gagnon hopes he can again reach the winner’s circle with Kiss Me Bad. It would be another step towards reaching his dream.
Sunday’s race program begins at 12:10 p.m. For a free race program, visit ww.hippodrome3r.ca.
To view Sunday's complete entries, click the following link: Sunday Entries – Hippodrome 3R.
(Québec Jockey Club)