Patience is a virtue and driver Pascal Berube took that proverb to heart on Sunday at Hippodrome 3R.
Starting from the rail, Berube and SOS Striking Monte got away in second place as top mare Kim Sorel (Martin Gingras), left quickly to take early command of the race.
By the opening quarter mile in :30.1, Kim Sorel was already under pressure on the outside from The Great Bambino (Jonathan Lachance), but The Great Bambino went off-stride.
That allowed Gingras to back off the early speed and slow the field down to the half mile marker in 1:03.3. Force Naturelle and trainer/driver Simon Delisle then started a three-wide move in the backstretch to push Kim Sorel to the three-quarters in 1:34.4 and was gaining ground on the final turn.
But once they straightened out in the stretch for the final drive to the wire, the very patient Pascal Berube moved SOS Striking Monte to the passing lane and they shot by the race leaders to win by two and one-quarter lengths in 2:04.4. Kim Sorel held for second over Force Naturelle.
Trained by Guy Roy and owned by Francis Proulx of Saint-Pie-De-Guire, Que., it was the third win this year for SOS Striking Monte. The four-year-old mare by Striking Sahbra paid $5.70 to win as the betting favourite.
Stephane Brosseau and Steeven Genois had the ‘hot hands’ at the Hippodrome 3R Sunday, winning three races apiece on the program.
Next Sunday will be the final day of the season for live harness racing at the Hippodrome 3R. The track is open year-round, seven days a week for simulcasting.
For the full charted results from Sunday's card of harness racing at Hippodrome 3R, click the following link: Sunday Results - Hippodrome 3R.
(with files from QJC)