Celia Bayama, one of only two mares in the field, was able to handle a first-over challenge in beating her male rivals in the Preferred Pace on Sunday (Nov. 5) afternoon at Hippodrome 3R.

The $5,000 ninth race feature started off with Siddhartha (Marie-Claude Auger) going to the early lead and race favourite Sports Bettor (Pascal Berube) grabbing the pocket trip to the first quarter in :27.4. En route to the half-mile, driver Stephane Brosseau went first-over with Celia Bayama with D Gs De Vito (Jonathan Lachance) getting the second-over cover. The half was backed down to :58.1.

Celia Bayama continued to grind it out first-over against Siddhartha passing the three-quarters in 1:27.4. They raced neck and neck around the final turn and down the stretch before Celia Bayama pulled away. She held off D Gs De Vito to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:58. Kiss Me Bad (Steven Gagnon), the other mare in the field, finished third.

Picking up her fifth win in 19 starts this year, the former Quebec-bred champion is trained by Jack Reid, who co-owns the five-year-old Bettors Delight mare with his wife, Marie Claude Reid and Mario Menard. She paid $11.60 to win.

The third race trot was the final appearance for the 14-year-old Caroluzzo. The senior warhorse by Musclesexdrodinar raced gamely in his last race, finishing third to On The Sly, who won by three-quarters of a length in 2:04 for driver Jocelyn Gendron, paying $24.50 to win.

Bred and owned his entire career by Michael Cote Gagnon, Caroluzzo was trained by Daniel Martin for most of the trotter’s career. Caroluzzo retires with 247 starts, 41 wins, 33 seconds and 32 third-place finishes and $195,744 in earnings. He will now retire as a companion horse.

To view Sunday's harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Hippodrome 3R.

(With files from Quebec Jockey Club)