Hippodrome 3R is hosting a Preferred Trot this Friday (Oct. 2) and every horse in the field has a shot at winning the race.

All eyes will be on Keepall, who won the Preferred Trot last week. He is scheduled to start from Post 4 in the card's featured dash, which will face the gate for Race 7. Reinsman Pascal Berube, who steered Keepall for the first time last week, has retained the driving assignment.

Keepall (5) pictured fighting off Precieuse CC (4) on September 25 at Hippodrome 3R.

Keepall, who is a six-year-old gelding by Angus Hall, led from start to finish last week, but barely held off the late charge of the lone mare in the field, Precieuse CC, to win by a nose in a lifetime-best 1:58.

“He is a very fast horse,” said Pascal Berube. “He's also competitive, as he doesn't seem to want to be passed when he's leading the pack.”

A five-time winner this year, Keepall is trained by Sylvain Tremblay of Metabetchouan. Tremblay’s Alpha Stable co-owns Keepall with Gino Curadeau of Fermon.

“Last week I drove him for the first time,” Berube said. “And I really believed in his chances of winning. This week he has similarly the same opposition, but the race was tight last week [so] anyone can win this event.

“Last week was very close,” Berube added. “I knew I had won and Precieuse CC was ahead of us on the other side of the finish line.”

Keepall came to the stable of Sylvain Tremblay right before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

“I bought the horse in February,” Tremblay explained. “I brought him to the stable in March and started training him. By the time I started racing him in June he was in great shape.

“He is a horse that loves to train,” Tremblay said. “With us he works every day. He found it difficult at first, but quickly got used to it. No problem in sight now.”

As for last week’s nose victory, Tremblay says the race was too close.

“It was very difficult to say whether he won or not last week, it was so close at the finish,” Tremblay added. “I did love the way he fought until the end. He is an incredible starter. He is playful and always in a good mood.”

Keepall will need to be in a good mood again on Friday as he is set to face off against rival Precieuse CC, who has drawn Post 2 for her owner/trainer/driver, Claude Beausoleil.

Precieuse, who is a five-year-old mare by Angus Hall, is a former Quebec-bred champion. This year she has tallied three wins and a tough second-place finish to Keepall.

Bucketlist Hanover (Post 3) is the fastest in the field with an impressive lifetime mark of 1:53.3 taken this year. He has four wins for trainer Gilles Boucher and will be driven by Jocelyn Gendron. Last week he was parked out first-over against Keepall and finished fourth by only three quarters of a length after the tough journey.

Capteur De Reve (Post 5) was also in last week's tight win photo and wound up finishing third to Keepall by just a head. Capteur De Reve is a four-time Quebec-bred champion for trainer Maxime Velaye and will be driven by Stephane Gendron.

Rounding out the field is newcomer Severus Hanover (Post 1), who has been racing around the Ontario circuit for trainer-owner Yannick Martel. He won two starts back in 1:57.2 at Kawartha Downs and will be driven on Friday by Stephane Brosseau. Severus Hanover sports five wins this year.

Friday's first-race post time will be at 4:00 p.m.

Track Notes: This coming Sunday (Oct. 4), H3R will host the annual Lucien Bombardier Pace for two-year-old fillies. The race, which carries a purse of $33,800, has been carded as Race 7 and is scheduled to head to post at approximately 3:00 p.m.

For a free race programs, visit www.hippodrome3R.ca.

To view the harness racing entries for Friday at H3R, click the following link: Friday Entries - Hippodrome 3R.

(Quebec Jockey Club)