Pascal Berube will put the finishing touches on his Hippodrome 3R driving title during next weekend's season finale and could reach a mark no other reinsman has yet to hit.
After scoring a driving triple at 3R on Sunday, Oct. 30, he is just two victories away from becoming the first driver ever to win 100 races in one season at the track.
Berube already surpassed the track record that he set of 86 wins back in 2004. He now waits with 98 wins until next Sunday, Nov. 6, which is closing day for the 2022 season at 3R.
The brother and sister duels in the afternoon's $4,300 third race co-feature trot never emerged. One of Berube's Sunday successes, Stella Alpha won the race, but her brother Archimed Alpha was last. And the brother-sister entry of Kinderunbelievable and Kinnder Dangerzone did not fare well too, both making breaks and finishing sixth and seventh, respectively.
But Stella Alpha cannot be ignored. She is the “Princess of Trot” this year at 3R for trainer Sylvain Tremblay and showed it again on Sunday. The Royalty For Life-Eclair Chocolat filly went first-over against pacesetter Royalty Beer (Kevin Maguire) after a :28 first quarter.
She pushed Royalty Beer to the half-mile in :58.1 as Morally Flexible (Stephane Brosseau) picked up the second-over cover with Muscles Forever (Sylvain Fontaine) sitting the pocket trip behind Royalty Beer.
Stella Alpha was persistent, grinding it out and taking the lead away from Royalty Beer at the three-quarters in 1:28. Down the stretch, Stella Alpha remained strong on the lead, holding off Morally Flexible to win by 1-3/4 lengths in 1:59.1. Muscles Forever was third.
The win was the ninth win of the year from 21 starts for Stella Alpha. Eight of her wins have been at 3R, making her the winningest horse this season going into the last week of racing. The homebred three-year-old filly is owned by Tremblay’s Ecurie Alpha of Metabetchouan, Que.
She paid $3.60 to win as part of the favoured entry.
In the $5,150 ninth race co-feature for the top pacers, Kiss Me Bad and driver/trainer/owner Steven Gagnon made a bold first-over move against the 1-9 race favourite Mickeymaksomespeed (Pascal Berube) in the backstretch after the half-mile and blew by them en route to a 2-1/2-length triumph in 1:56. Macho Polo (Sylvain Fontaine), at 25-1, was second with Mickeymaksomespeed third.
The win was the third straight for the six-year-old Badlands Hanover mare and her fourth in 13 starts this year. She paid $11.20 to win.
In the first race of the day for filly and mare pacers, the Sylvain Tremblay-trained Cafe Society and Berube were able to grind it out first-over against Shanghaibluebeach (Daniel Laflamme), taking the lead by the top of stretch and winning by 1-3/4 lengths in 1:56.3. It was her third win in her last four starts at 3R.
Track Notes: Both leading driver Pascal Berube and leading trainer Sylvain Tremblay have unsurpassable leads for their respective titles. It will be the fifth driving title for Berube. For Tremblay, who had a training double on Sunday and now has 29 wins from his stable this year, it will be his second straight title. Next Sunday, Nov. 6 is the final day of live racing at 3R for the 2022 season. First race post time is 12 noon.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Hippodrome 3R.
(With files from Quebec Jockey Club)