It has been three weeks since Mirabel Enfete won the $55,000 Quebec-bred Championship at Hippodrome 3R and the Leader Bayama filly returns to action Sunday, Sept. 29 in the Two-Year-Old Open Filly Pace.

Bred and owned by Guy Corbeil of Mirabel, Que., enfete means celebrates in French, thus Mirabel celebrates. And she has every right to.

A late bloomer this season, Mirabel Enfete was not very pressive in her first two starts for trainer Maxime Velaye and driver Stephane Brosseau with a fifth and sixth-place finish. But then things changed by her third start as Brosseau guided her from start to finish with a much-needed victory in the Future Stars Series third leg at 3R, winning with ease in 2:00.3.

That made her eligible for the $55,000 final on Sept. 8, where she again wired the field, winning by one length in a lifetime best 1:59 clocking.

“Since Day 1 she was a professional,” said trainer Maxime Velaye. “She’s got size, a nice gait, a great attitude and all the tools to make some noise at age two.

“I’m always happy winning a Quebec Championship final,” Velaye added. “We work all winter and spring hoping to have good results for that day, so it was really a nice feeling to see Mirabel Enfete win.”

How about the slow first two starts?

“She got injured in the paddock at the beginning of June that was not a 'major' injury,” explained Velaye. “She needed some time for the healing process. Our vet, Marie-Soleil Dubois, did an amazing job with a little surgery to fix her up.

“What we didn’t have control in was the stakes schedule, so our focus was to bring her to her best for the final. We had no choice but to skip the first leg. In the second leg, she was just not ready to go that fast, but she did improve some. In the third leg, she was starting to feel a lot better and she proved it by winning the final easily. She was super in the final and put in her best performance to date.”

It was only the fourth career start for Mirabel Enfete when she won the Quebec Championship. On Sunday, she will start from post five with Brosseau back in the sulky against a stellar field of eight rivals.

Her main rival will be Simply The Best from post three for driver Pascal Berube. In her last start, the All Bets Off filly wired the field at 3R last week by three-quarters of a length in 1:59.2.

Trained by Marc-Andre Simoneau for Aurel Harvey Et Flis Inc., Simply The Best sports three wins already, including a 1:57.4 lifetime mark at Rideau Carleton Raceway.

Other contenders include Justine Ray (post one), Silver Majesty (post eight) and TJ Bliss (post seven).

Most of the fillies racing Sunday are prepping for the $30,000 Lucien Bombardier Pace at 3R on Sunday, Oct. 6.

“That was the plan for Mirabel Enfete,” said Velaye. “To take it easy on her after the final and now turn our focus to the Lucien Bombardier. She may not be in perfect 'race fit' after missing three weeks, but this filly loves racing, so I will not be surprised if she ends up winning this Sunday.”

And after the Lucien Bombardier Pace next week?

“Then Mirabel Enfete will have a nice vacation,” Velaye concluded.

Sunday’s 12-race card begins at 12 p.m. For a free race program, visit hippodrome3r.ca. To view Sunday's entries, click the following link: Sunday Entries - Hippodrome 3R.

(Quebec Jockey Club)