Two-year-old Quebec-bred trotters get their first taste of local stakes action at Hippodrome 3R during this Friday’s twilight card, with the first preliminaries, each worth $10,000, of the Coupe de L’Avenir for both colts and fillies.

The filly event drew a field of five, with each of two stables having two entrants, so it is being conducted as a non-betting race. Jerome Lambert, whose mare Promising Lavec is also the dam of the 2019 older Q-bred champion mare Lucky Promesses, has the only winner in the field, a daughter of Angus Hall and Promising Catch named X O X O, who won in 2:05.1 here at first asking, and draws post four Friday.

There are seven colts entered in the third race division for males, three of them trained by Melanie Boulienne and owned by the partnership of Ecurie Largo Inc and Ecurie Gaetan Bono Inc. The coupled entry are the morning line favourites in their race, with Piranha First (post five, driver Pascal Berube) and Dealinwitmywife (post seven, Steeven Genois) both already showing winning miles.

Co-featured on the card is the seventh race $4,500 Preferred handicap trot, with a full field of nine to face the starter. Precieuse CC has been installed the early favourite from the rail for owner/trainer/driver Claude Beausoleil after overcoming a tough trip to be third in her last start.

We have mentioned Lucky Promesses and Precieuse CC already, and indeed much of the Friday night card is an endorsement that the Quebec-bred trotters go on to successful careers as older horses. Precieuse CC was the champion of her class in 2017 and 2018, and as mentioned Lucky Promesses won a title last season. Also with that distinction in the feature race are Babidibou, a three-year-old who took top honours in his group last year, and Caroluzzo, who set the local track record for 1 1/2 miles.

Others on the card who have won Quebec crowns are Claudi P V (race one), Holiday Party (race five) and even a pacer, Stock (race nine). When they say that you’re watching the stars of tomorrow today at Hippodrome 3R, you can see that they really mean that statement.

The final of four cards that 3R is hosting in the absence of the regional circuit in this COVID year will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday; on Sunday at 1 p.m., the three-year-old pacers will race in the second preliminary of their Trophee Des Eleveurs competition.

(Quebec Jockey Club)