It was Builder’s Day at Hippodrome 3R on Sunday, Oct. 1 with the Quebec Jockey Club playing tribute to some of the great harness racing horsemen from Quebec who have had great influence in the development and promotion of harness racing in the province.
On the racetrack, it was Louis-Philippe Roy Day as he won all four of the stakes races on the program. Three of them were also won by trainer Jacques Dupont and the Ecurie CSL of Sorel-Tracy, Que.
Benoit Cote, Gilles Lachance (Jonathan Lachance accepting), Gaetan Lamy, Pierre Levesque and Alain Veilleux were honoured in the winner’s circle before the first race. In addition, the race card featured two $60,000 Invitational pacing events honouring the late Brian Paquet and two $17,500 divisions of the Lucien Bombardier Pace for two-year-old fillies. Both men were renowned “Builders” of racing in Quebec and throughout Canada.
L to R: Gaetan Lamy, Jonathan Lachance (for Gilles Lachance) Pierre Levesque, Benoit Cote and Alain Veilleux.
The $60,000 Brian Paquet Memorial for the pacing horses produced the fastest mile of the season at 3R.
In the 10th race invitational, Aladdin (Stephane Brosseau) shot to the early lead with Sports Bettor (Kevin Maguire) getting the two-hole trip as Roy and race favourite Cadillac Bayama moved right out from being third and shot to the lead with an opening quarter in a pedestrian :28.1.
The pressure picked up from there as HP Momentum (Pascal Berube) went first-over and pushed Cadillac Bayama to the half in :56 and then to the three-quarters in 1:24, yet never gaining past Cadillac Bayama’s saddle pad.
As they headed down the stretch, Roy urged Cadillac Bayama on and he responded, winning by nearly two lengths in 1:52. Aladdin was second with HP Momentum third.
The win was the fifth of the season from 31 starts for the Cadillac Bayama (pictured above). The former Quebec-Bred Stakes champion, now age five, is trained by Jacques Dupont for Ecurie CSL. He paid $3.10 to win. The speedy son of Sunshine Beach was bred by Bayama Farms.
The $60,000 Brian Paquet Memorial for the pacing mares was the eighth race where Ladycorona (Pascal Berube) took the early lead to the quarter in :27.2. Roy then went first-over with race favourite JKs Rollin Baby and cleared to command then led to the half-mile in :56.3.
YS Sensationalcity (William Roy) had already started up first-over and went after JKs Rollin Baby, pressing the pace past the half and through three-quarters in 1:25.4. They raced together around the final turn and heading down the stretch JKs Rollin Baby proved to be too much, winning by one length in 1:54.1. YS Sensationalcity was second with Ladycorona third.
The win was the fifth this season from 23 starts for the four-year-old JK Endofanera mare, who is also trained by Dupont for Ecurie CSL. She was bred by Mahlon Lambright. JKs Rollin Baby paid $4.40 to win.
The first $17,500 division of the Lucien Bombardier Pace was the fifth race where 1-9 favourite Sweet Molly gave her supporters a bit of a scare, but still came out on top.
D Gs Lorijeanne (Jonathan Lachance) left like a rocket from post five to take the early lead with Sweet Molly (Louis-Philippe Roy) in the pocket seat as they went by the first quarter in :28.
My Last Kiss (Robert Shepherd) went first-over looking to flush Sweet Molly, but it never happened. They went by the half-mile in :59.3 and My Last Kiss started working her way up to be on even terms with D Gs Lorijeanne with Roy then moving out second-over with Sweet Molly by the three-quarters in 1:29.1.
As the two leaders battled head and head around the final turn, Roy fanned three-wide with Sweet Molly. The three horses battled to the wire with Sweet Molly pulling away just in time to win by half a length in 1:58.4. My Last Kiss was second with D Gs Lorijeanne third.
The win was the third in 10 career starts for Sweet Molly and the first time Roy had ever driven the filly. Bred by Spring Haven Farm and Doug Millard Holdings USA, the daughter of Sweet Lou is trained by Dupont for Ecurie CSL. She paid $2.30 to win.
In the seventh race division of the Lucien Bombardier Pace, Ronda Du Lac put in the toughest and fastest race of her career with Louis-Philippe Roy in the sulky.
The Heart Valley (Francis Picard) led to the quarter in :28.2 with Roy coming aboard Ronda Du Lac. But Picard was not letting Roy get by him and parked Ronda Du Lac past the half-mile in :57.2.
They continued to battle in the backstretch as race favourite Mybitcoin (Stephane Brosseau) moved second-over behind Ronda Du Lac, who finally cleared to the lead by the three-quarters in 1:27.
Around the final turn, Rhonda Du Lac was strong on the lead and held off Mybitcoin down the stretch to win by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:57.3. The Heart Valley was third.
Trained by David Pilon, Rhonda Du Lac established a new lifetime mark in her third win and sixth career start. Roy bred the Shadow Play filly and co-owns with partners Maude Larouche, Michel Letarte and Jean Allaire. She paid $6.30 to win.
Sunday's undercard included a $7,000 Preferred Handicap Trot, which went to Fix A Drink, a back-to-back winner at 3R. Marie-Claude Auger sent the six-year-old Angus Hall gelding down the road for the 1:56.2 victory for Pierre Leclerc, who trains and shares ownership with breeder Shaun Baines.
Louis-Philippe Roy led the way with four winners on the Sunday card while Simon Delisle, Robert Shepherd and Marie-Claude Auger all had driving doubles. Both Jacques Dupont and David Pilon had training triples. Pilon is now tied with Marc-Andre Simoneau for leading trainer, both with 23 wins.
Next weekend, 3R will feature live racing both Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 7 & 8) with post time on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 12 noon. Saturday’s program will feature the Quebec Regional Fair Circuit Finals.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Hippodrome 3R.
(With files from Quebec Jockey Club)