Harness racing driver Pascal Berube is all but a shoo-in to win this third straight driving title at Hippodrome 3R and he put on a driving clinic Sunday (Oct. 9), winning five of the 11 races on the card.
Berube, from Portneuf, Que., started off the day winning the first three races on the card with Playa Durharas ($19.20), Indigo Seelster ($7.60) and Café Society ($3.60). He also won the fifth race with Yankee Up ($4.20) and the ninth race with Arrhythmogenic ($2.10).
Berube holds an insurmountable lead for this year’s driving title. He ended the card on Sunday with 85 wins, while his closest competitor, Stephane Brosseau, is second with 45 wins.
Berube is enjoying his best season ever as a driver with his mounts having banked just over $900,000 so far. He has won 163 races in 2022.
Berube also drives for defending 3R leading trainer Sylvain Tremblay and they teamed up for two wins on Sunday (Cafe Society and Yankee Up). That raised Tremblay's win total to 25 wins this season, nine more than Francis Richard and Marc-Andre Simoneau, who are each tied for second place with 16 wins.
In the sixth race $5,150 Preferred Handicap Pace, there was no stopping Histoire Enchantee and trainer/driver Simon Delisle as they were able to lead from start to finish.
With Twin B Betty (Robert Shepherd) sitting on their backs, Histoire Enchantee cut the mile to the quarter in an easy :29.1 then was challenged on the outside by race favourite Siddhartha (Stephane Brosseau) and the half was pressed in :58.4.
Siddhartha was stuck on the outside but kept on coming, boxing in Twin B Betty as Histoire Enchantee led the field past the three-quarters in 1:27.3.
Around the final turn and starting down the stretch, Histoire Enchantee bore out just enough for Twin B Betty to have room along the pylons, but Histoire Enchantee was too tough, going on to win by one length in 1:56.4. Twin B Betty was second with Siddhartha third.
The win was the third straight and sixth in Histoire Enchantee's last seven starts. The eight-year-old Shanghai Phil gelding is co-owned by Aurelle Delisle and Raymond Bouffard. He paid $7.40 to win.
Track Notes: Hippodrome 3R will have a special live race card tomorrow (Monday, Oct. 10) for the Thanksgiving holiday. Post time is 1 p.m. The race card is dedicated to the Quebec Regional Fair Circuit as this is the final race program of the fair circuit's season. As the grand finale, the eighth race is at a distance of 1-1/2 miles and it’s the Battle of the Sexes as there are four women and four men drivers in the race.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Hippodrome 3R.
(With files from Quebec Jockey Club)