The Hippodrome 3R newest edition to their harness racing meet, a brand new Ford F250 slanted starting gate, was used for the first time Wednesday and Canbec Lindor used it to her advantage in the seventh race pace in scoring an upset at odds of 87-1 and paid $177.00 to win.

Built by the Howard Starting Gate Company in Ohio, the new starting gate features a 12-foot slant between the horse starting on the rail and the horse starting from the far outside in post eight.

The estimated cost for the new car, the installation of the slanted starting gate and governor system is at nearly $85,000. It is also equipped with a new governor system that automatically sets the speed at which the starting gate goes at the start of a race and can be adjusted for trotters or pacers and for younger horses.

And in the seventh race, driver Stephane Brosseau used the slanted starting gate advantage in scoring the highest win price of the season at the Hippodrome 3R.

Saddled with starting from the far outside in post eight, Brosseau had Canbec Lindor primed and ready to go and they left like a rocket from behind the starting gate and was able to zoom right to the lead over Wallydontplaygames (Raymond Vachon).

After settling on the lead in :28, Canbec Lindor was immediately challenged first-over by the odds-on favourite, Northern Trophy, and driver Jocelyn Gendron and parked them until the top of the stretch the first time. By the half mile in :57.2, Northern Trophy was then challenged first-over by Video Storage (Louis-Philippe Roy) with Shiny Mach (Stephane Gendron) following the outside flow to the three-quarters in 1:27.3.

Then in the stretch drive it the patiently waiting Brosseau, who as soon as he had clearance, pulled from the pocket with Canbec Lindor and not only collared race leader Northern Trophy, but passed them by to win convincingly by 2-1/4 lengths in 1:57.3. Northern Trophy held for second place, with Wallydontplaygames third.

It was the first win in nine starts for Canbec Lindor and a lifetime mark for the four-year-old mare by Major In Art. She was one of just three mares in the nine-horse field. She is trained and owned by Jean Tourigny of Becancour, QC with Michel Damphousse of Louisville, QC.

Her win price of $177.00 surpassed the previous season high of $130.40 set back on May 31 by Anamazingdream Esa (Andre Champagne).

“We are very pleased with the new starting gate,” said Vincent Trudel, general manager at the Hippodrome 3R. “Obviously the slanted gate worked in helping Canbec Lindor get to the lead in her race from post eight and she won at odds of 87-1. That was very exciting tonight. We still have some work to do on it but for the very first night that it has been used it was very good.”

In the ninth race feature pace Wednesday, the betting fans had trouble declaring a wagering favourite as three horses all went off at odds of 5/2 and all three finished the race together in a photo finish.

Hockey Bum (Francis Picard) wired the field and just held on in defeating race favourite Windham Hanover (Normand Beaudoin) and Charlottes Tazman (Denis St Pierre) in 1:58.1.

Three drivers all had driving doubles Wednesday. They were Stephane Brosseau, Denis St Pierre and Louis-Philippe Roy.

Live racing resumes Sunday afternoon at the Hippodrome 3R with first race post time at 1:30 p.m. For more information visit www.quebecjockeyclub.com.

(QJC)