Since the beginning of July there have been stakes races every Sunday at Hippodrome 3R This is the first weekend of no stakes events, but that does not mean there are no stories about the excellent race card.
A classic battle will take place in the ninth race Preferred-Handicap Pace for the fillies and mares.
There is just one filly in the field, the three-year-old daughter of Control The Moment, Platine Alpha (Post 6), who is no stranger to competing against the best mares at 3R.
She raced well last week against the best in her $60,000 Breeders Trophy Series Final, and finished a strong third for regular reinsman Pascal Berube. Prior to that start, Platine Alpha was tried at both Woodbine Mohawk Park and Rideau Carleton Raceway in the Ontario Sires Stakes Gold and an overnight event, and was a respectable fifth-place finisher in both events.
Platine Alpha is also tied with another filly, the trotter X O X O, as the two winningest horses at 3R this season, each with seven wins over the half-mile oval.
Bred, owned and trained by Sylvain Tremblay and his Alpha Stable of Metabechouan, Platine Alpha collected many of her seven wins racing against older horses at 3R earlier this season and is the 3-1 second choice in the feature race. Her trainer sits atop the leader board at 3R with 25 wins from his stable with Francis Richard second with 18 wins and Maxime Velaye third with 17 wins.
But there are eight other rivals in the race and the standout of the older mares is none other than Kiss Me Bad, who will be after her fourth straight win in this class for owner, trainer and driver Steven Gagnon of Sorel Tracy.
This five-year-old mare by Badlands Hanover has been outstanding as of late for Gagnon, and is handicapped with the outside post eight on Sunday. She started from that post in her last start at 3R and still won with ease in 1:57, while tying her lifetime mark of 1:56 in the start prior.
Kiss Me Bad does not have much leaving ability, but once Gagnon gets her into gear in the backstretch, she has been unbeatable in her last three starts.
Other standouts in the field include Fancy Girl (Post 2), who returns after a month’s rest and was very sharp before taking the break. She will be driven by Francis Picard. Wild River Swan (Post 5) is another top mare returning from a brief layoff and she will feature the return of driver Pierre Luc Roy to the 3R driving colony.
Y C Easy (Post 7) with Steeve Genois driving and Sophies Cam (Post 4) for driver Stephane Brosseau are also contenders in the race.
There are 11 races on the Sunday program of harness racing at 3R, with first post time of 12:10 pm. A free race program is available at hippodrome3r.ca. To view the entries for Sunday's card, click the following link: Sunday Entries - Hippodrome 3R.
(Quebec Jockey Club)