Harness racing driver Kiwon Waldron, who hails from Bermuda, bid a fond farewell to the Hippodrome 3R horsepeople and fans as Sunday (Oct. 23) was his last day of racing before heading home.
And Waldron said goodbye in a big way, wiring the field with Mickeymaksomespeed in the ninth race feature, the $6,500 Preferred Handicap Pace.
“It was a good summer here,” said Waldron in the winner’s circle. “But it’s time for me to go back home and re-evaluate my career. It has been great here and the horsepeople in Quebec are wonderful and have gone out of their way in helping me.”
Waldron, age 22, leaves Quebec with 17 wins and was fifth in the driver standings at Hippodrome 3R.
With Mickeymaksomespeed, Waldron sent the five-year-old stallion right to the lead after the start with Platine Alpha (Pascal Berube) sitting right on their back to the first quarter in :28.3.
Twin B Betty (Robert Shepherd), one of the three mares in the race, went first-over after the quarter and started to pressure Mickeymaksomespeed but Waldron was able to get away with an easy half-mile in :59.
Down the backside, Mickeymaksomespeed and Waldron were able to hold the field at bay past the three-quarters mark in 1:27.3 and with another burst of speed at the top of the stretch, they pulled away to win by three lengths in 1:56.1. The three mares in the field finished second through fourth. In order, they were Platine Alpha, Twin B Betty and Better Kissthe Men (David Pilon).
The win was Mickeymaksomespeed's eighth of the season from 23 starts and his third win in his last four starts. The homebred son of Mickey Hanover is owned and trained by Michel Allard. He paid $8.60 to win.
Driver Pascal Berube completed a natural hat trick by the fourth race trot on Sunday as he scored a 20-1 upset with Archimed Alpha in 1:59.1. Parked first-over from the backstretch, Archimed Alpha went stride-for-stride with pacesetter Royalty Beer (Kevin Maguire) and wore him down by the wire, winning by three-quarters of a length. He paid $43.50 to win for 3R leading trainer Sylvain Tremblay.
Track Notes: Pascal Berube led everyone on the day with four winners. It was the third time this season he won four races on a single card. He now has 95 winners, just five more wins to reach 100 and there are still two days of racing left for 3R’s 2022 season. Live racing continues next Sunday, Oct. 30 with first race post time at 12 noon.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Hippodrome 3R.
(With files from Quebec Jockey Club)