Horseman J.F. Gagne had much more to celebrate than the New Year on Sunday, January 1 as he reached a special career milestone amidst a driving grand slam at Fraser Downs
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Gagne recorded his 1,000th career win aboard his homebred pacing mare Queens Heritaj in the fifth race. The five-year-old Tajma Hall miss, trained by Marjorie Dumont, converted from the pocket to pull off a 10-1 upset over the popular pacesetter Intrepid Kate, stopping the clock in 1:56 flat.
Prior to his milestone win, Gagne kicked off the New Year by sweeping the early Daily Double with Abbetross A Claiming Series division winner Tre Bien for conditioner Justin Currie and his own maiden-breaking sophomore Lightemup, also trained by Dumont. He got started on his next thousand later in the seventh race with another victory for Dumont with his veteran pacer Rehearsal Hall.
Gagne's four wins from five drives on the card give him a .800 driving average to start the 2012 season. The resident of Wetaskiwin, Alta. has banked more than $6.37 million in purses over the course of his career. He won 28 races and earned over $215,000 of his bankroll last season.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Fraser Downs.