It was almost a fairytale ending for Louis Philippe Roy in the annual harness drivers' tournament Sunday at muddy Hippodrome 3R.
And then came the tournament's eighth and final race.
Roy, at 25 the youngest driver in the tournament and a late addition to the field after organizers decided it would include the top seven local drivers instead of the top six, had a five-point lead entering the last event. And he was driving the favourite, 3-5 shot Cliff Drummond, while the only driver who could catch him, Stephane Gendron, had a 40-1 shot, Johnny Day.
But the gate left with Cliff Drummond spotting the field 20 lengths from trailing post nine, and while Roy eventually was able to regain contact with the field, Cliff Drummond was a non-factor, finishing sixth. Gendron, meanwhile, rallied his longshot around the final turn to grab fourth place behind 10-1 victor Nuck Phil. Fourth got him eight points for a total of 170, one point better than Roy. Mario Charron finished third with 99 points.
Gendron became the first Hippodrome 3R regular to win the tournament since it was introduced four years ago. Daniel Dube, Yannick Gingras and Jody Jamieson had won the three previous editions. Ontario-based Robert Shepherd was the lone outside driver in this year's event, and he finished fourth with 98 points. Simon Allard, who also was scheduled to participate, was a late scratch and got replaced by veteran Gaetan Lamy, who won the deciding race with Nuck Phil.
Gendron won three of the eight tournament races (Stonebridge Regent, Winoc Jimmy, Montezuma Bluechip), and Roy captured two (Vival Angus, Brown Dirty Cowboy). The other victories were recorded by Shepherd (Pop Goes Theweasel) and Jocelyn Gendron (Akoya).
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Hippodrome 3R.
(A Trot Insider exclusive by Paul Delean)